Shoulder pain getting progressively worse.

I can't really pinpoint a single event that caused it but it's been picking up for about the last 3-4 months and getting worse. It doesn't hurt when someone moves my arm, only when I move my arm so I was thinking it was muscle not joint, but it really starts to hurt when I am sitting at my computer desk using my mouse. I have to let it hang??

I don't have insurance right now (self employed) so I'm just thinking of resting and hot cold packs, along with upping my glucosamine and chondroitin.

Any other suggestions?

Replies

  • AuddAlise
    AuddAlise Posts: 723 Member
    Do you take a Calcium Citrate? That might help. Could you see a chiropractor? I work for one and he is great; specializes in sports medicine. We work with shoulder pain all the time. If you could give me specifics I could ask the Dr.
  • SanDiegoCasey
    SanDiegoCasey Posts: 130 Member
    Do you take a Calcium Citrate? That might help. Could you see a chiropractor? I work for one and he is great; specializes in sports medicine. We work with shoulder pain all the time. If you could give me specifics I could ask the Dr.

    Not sure what specifics to provide? About the only thing I know is that if it hurts when someone else moves it it's probably joint and not muscle LOL. It's definitely upper front, right where the top and anterior muscles come together.
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,749 Member
    I understand that you don't have insurance however you really should go to a doctor or specialist. Believe it or not they will work with you if you are uninsured. My husband and I are both self employed and while we carry insurance we have a very high deductible (10k) so when we go to the doctor or any place where they take insurance we tell them we don't have insurance and they will work with you. In fact it's a lot cheaper to pay out of pocket then to use insurance.

    Sore muscles/joints etc. is not something to mess with and guess what's wrong.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    if you absolutely can't see a doc then try doing some YTWL exercises 3x per week. Youtube it. I also bought a sling ($16 on Amazon) so I could rest mine when I didn't need both arms.


    edited to add: it should go without saying that you should be avoiding shoulder intensive work until you get a professional opinion or are completely free of pain. no benching, no OHP
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
    I used to have shoulder pain in roughly that same area (not totally sure). I had to refrain from and then change my form on a few exercises -- most notably, push-ups. When I switched to a mostly tricep push-up (i.e. elbows staying parallel to my body instead of diagonal or perpendicular) it never came back.

    Your mileage may vary.
  • StaticEntropy
    StaticEntropy Posts: 224 Member
    I can't really pinpoint a single event that caused it but it's been picking up for about the last 3-4 months and getting worse. It doesn't hurt when someone moves my arm, only when I move my arm so I was thinking it was muscle not joint, but it really starts to hurt when I am sitting at my computer desk using my mouse. I have to let it hang??

    It's definitely upper front, right where the top and anterior muscles come together.

    I'm not a doctor, but I did stay at Holiday Inn last night...

    Anyway, from your description my guess is that you have an inflamed supraspinatus, which is a very common rotator cuff problem. You can test this using the Empty Can Test. I had this problem for about a year and strengthening my rotator cuff muscles with 5 lb dumbbells(external/internal rotations, abduction, scarecrows, etc.) eventually fixed it.