Pain in my left shoulder-Rotator cuff tear injury?

suzanne63
suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I had been doing a lot of total body workouts.Jillian Michaels ect.Well,I went on a vacation back home to Florida in July and August.On the way home on the train I tried to put my carry on bag over head from my seat.It was was too heavy.I thought I just strained something.I have sharp pain in my left shoulder some times especially putting my arm over my head or trying to put my jacket on.It's been hurting for about 3 months now.Some people said they thought it was a rotator cuff injury.I was in denial about this for a little while.But it does sound like I have that injury.I do not have insurance to see a Dr.Can this injury heal on it's own.I have done no upper body workouts.I walk because I have to walk to take my children to school.I have been feeling really down because I haven't been able to workout. I am resting from working out until New Years.Then I will start a new years program very slowly with stretching,toning,abs and lower body work and watching my diet.I am not doing any upper body work until the pain goes away and for a long time so it I hope and pray will heal.When will the sharp pains go away?Will it heal on it's own?Also Is there anyone starting a new years resolution workout group I can join.

Replies

  • gonesewing
    gonesewing Posts: 63 Member
    It is hard to say unless you have tests done, but it does sound like it might be a tear. I had tendonosis, two tears and an impingement in my right rotator cuff. It took a very long time to heal (my doctor warned me that it could take 1 year) about 9 months (I was lucky). I went to physio and was assigned exercises to perform daily. I did continue to work out, just babied my right. It has been a few months since it stopped hurting and it is feeling really great now, maybe 95% pain free or so working towards completely healed. It is almost there, I don't do the physio exercises anymore. The best one was taking a ball (I used my son's small soccer ball) and holding it up to the wall and leaning in and tracing the alphabet.

    Good luck!
    MJ
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Thank You. Did you you any one have pain or sharp pains sometimes? Did that pain ever go away?
  • ngottstein
    ngottstein Posts: 62
    Recently suffered with acute pain in my shoulder that did not allow me to raise my arm above shoulder height. Made washing my hair very difficult! My doctor put me on ibuprofen 800 mg 3 times a day along with pain meds & muscle relaxer. Only took the pain meds/muscle relaxer once because it wiped me out but the ibuprofen made a huge difference. Within 3 days I was almost back to normal. Also iced the shoulder several times a day. Good luck! Hope you feel better soon :flowerforyou:
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Thank You for helping me.My shoulder has hurt for 3 months now.I'm getting worried it won't ever heal.But I had an elbow and back injury that did heal awhile back.It just took a few years and a long time.So I'm trying to be positive and not depressed.I just want the pain to go away.
  • gonesewing
    gonesewing Posts: 63 Member
    Thank You. Did you you any one have pain or sharp pains sometimes? Did that pain ever go away?

    I had sharp pain anytime I did a certain backward movement. For me, reaching up and back to put down the DVD player for my kids in my Caravan gave me the sharp pain. I got the pain on demand, every time with that quick movement. The pain was less when I moved it slowly. Yes, I am completely pain free for that movement now, fast and slow. Throwing a baseball was completely out of the question in June for me. I am trying to remember when it stopped hurting but can't really. Maybe about two months ago I noticed the big improvement, so 8 month post injury. I got my initial injury playing harmlessly with my son too, we were just playing :(.

    ETA: I forgot to add, my physiotherapist told me not to stretch my injured arm. If you have a tear the last thing you want to do is stretch it out while it is trying to heal together. I think mine was 8mm or so for one and 2 mm for the other.
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Ok.Thank you so much:smile: .It's getting very cold out right now.I have to wear my jacket with one sleeve in and one sleeve out so my arm doesn't hurt when I walk my children to school and pick them back up.May I please ask you what exercises did your physiotherapist tell you to do and when? Ok I won't stretch it.Just my neck when it get's tense.
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Well I think you should go and see a doctor. As it has been injured for three months I am concerned it could be something more serious than a muscle tear, which is something a doctor could diagnose and offer you treatment options for. I ended up having the tendons in my shoulder repaired after tearing them, and I was very limited for 6 months before that... like you have described I was frustrated at not being able to exercise the way I wanted. The fact you can't walk the kids to school without your arm tucked in sounds really limiting and painful.

    If you are unable to move it without pain you could develop a frozen shoulder, which from my own experience is utterly life-restricting.

    None of us on here can diagnose it for you and although it is expensive it could save you a lot of money to get it looked at now and prevent it from turning into a very very expensive problem.
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    I would go to the Drs.But I have no health insurance to go right now.If it's still sharp pains in about another 6 months.I'll have to do something.I just don't know what.I pray it just heals and it will just take awhile like my back and elbow did.I'm only doing light working out right now and trying to baby my arm for awhile.
  • lutterby
    lutterby Posts: 61 Member
    I am with a few people here and agree you should see a doctor.
    Three months of sharp pain is telling you something is wrong.
    I notice you mention you dont have insurance so cant see a doctor, but surely there are free/low cost medical clinic available for the non-insured (I'm Australian and we have a different medical care system to you). Even if there is a wait at these clinics, I would suggest you sign up to one.
    I had a scapula injury earlier this year which was getting worse and stopping my shoulder movement, and I put off seeing a professional (more of a fear of medical types), but once I visited the dr, then physio the injury got better in a month... 3-4 months of pain gone in a week, full shoulder movement back in a month
    Goodluck
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Thank You. I have been looking into a few places for low or no income persons.I have no money right now.But I do hope and pray it just gets better in a few months.
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Thank You for helping me.You all are very nice.Should I just go to the emergency room? I'm thinking they can at least diagnose me there right?.Will they do Xrays ect...and have a Dr see me when I get there?
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Thank You for helping me.You all are very nice.Should I just go to the emergency room? I'm thinking they can at least diagnose me there right?.Will they do Xrays ect...and have a Dr see me when I get there?

    ED is for emergencies, and while I understand his is really painful it's not life-threatening. I think a better plan would be to make an appointment with a physiotherapist, who can assess what is wrong and refer you to a surgeon if needed.
  • Skrib69
    Skrib69 Posts: 687 Member
    Before going to the Doctor route, it might be helpful to see proper sports masseuse. I have similar problems with my right shoulder as a result of too much driving combined with hyper flexing from my Aikido. My wife is a sports masseuse and helps it a lot. Unfortunately, having such a skilled wife isn't the bonus you would think in this situation - paying clients take priority so she only does me once a month or so whereas what it needs is a proper course of treatment!

    Whilst is not necessarily a free option, I would hope it is a cheaper option than a doctor and the resultant drugs bill!
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Ok.Thank you.I think I have to go to a primary care Dr and then they will have to refer me to a specialist? I have no insurance to do this? I can't pay for this.I think there is a low income clinic near me for homeless or indigent ?. Should I go there? Would I just walk in there?What will they do? I would please like if they can do x rays.MRI or what ever is necessary to find out what is wrong.Not just give me drugs and send me on my way.Will they or can they do that with X rays? Will they refer me to someone else?
  • HollisGrant
    HollisGrant Posts: 2,022 Member
    I do not have insurance to see a Dr.

    Are you in the US? If you go to the hospital finance office and tell them you are in pain and have no insurance, they will probably waive part of the cost or allow you to make payments.

    editing this to add that yes, if there is a low income clinic you should go there and they will help you.
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    I did find a free clinic in my area. But will they check me for a rotator cuff injury? It's not just a cold.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    I've had a shoulder-rotator cuff tear surgery. They did an mri and did not see tear, only until they did the surgery did they see it and how bad it was. I had pain most of the time, if I lie on that shoulder it hurt and lifting my arm it hurt also.

    Symptoms
    By Mayo Clinic staff
    Rotator cuff injury signs and symptoms may include:

    Pain and tenderness in your shoulder, especially when reaching overhead, reaching behind your back, lifting, pulling or sleeping on the affected side
    Shoulder weakness
    Loss of shoulder range of motion
    Inclination to keep your shoulder inactive
    The most common symptom is pain. You may experience it when you reach up to comb your hair, bend your arm back to put on a jacket or carry something heavy. Lying on the affected shoulder also can be painful. If you have a severe injury, such as a large tear, you may experience continuous pain and muscle weakness.


    Hope this helps and I hope you don't have it. it's a long, painful recovery!!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,944 Member
    I had some issues recently with the cuff. i just stopped doing push movement for a few weeks and the problem seems to be resolved. For shoulders I did lateral raises instead,and for chest flies.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    you need to see a doctor because depending on what it is it may or may not heal itself.

    the free clinic should be able to help, but honestly you need to know exactly what's wrong so you know how to heal it and unfortunately asking on an internet forum isnt going to help. you need a medical expert to xray, observe your movement, etc to diagnose, not a bunch of people on the internet who are counting calories
  • suzanne63
    suzanne63 Posts: 616 Member
    Yes,I agree.I do need to know exactly what's wrong with my shoulder and arm.That's why I'm just thinking about going to the emergency room.Because they will do a X ray right? and have me see a Dr.

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