The pain when I ripped the rotator cuff in my shoulder was immense. I'd been in the gym as usual and when I got back in the car, I could hardly turn the steering wheel. Luckily I had an appointment with a chiropractor that afternoon to realign my back so I asked him about it while I was there. He diagnosed a dislocated shoulder, manipulated it 'back' into position and told me to keep it rested. First mistake.
The shoulder was not dislocated and by allowing it to be manipulated, the muscles had torn further. Four weeks later and I could not move my shoulder or my arm without searing pain that would bring tears to my eyes. Eventually I started searching online for answers to my problem. I contacted orthopedic surgeons through WhereismyDoctor.com where they used an MRI machine to scan the shoulder as the swelling was by now so bad the muscles could not be seen with a routine X-ray. The MRI showed an acute rotator cuff tear.
The first rule with any shoulder injury is to insist upon an X-ray or MRI to allow the doctor to see the problem. Guessing does not solve the problem and as I found out can make it worse.
I was given steroid injections in the muscle to reduce the pain and my shoulder was kept restricted in a sling for a further three weeks while the muscles healed. Now, while I don't lift weights like I did, I can move my shoulder normally without pain. The shoulder still twinges if it's strained and the muscles may never regain the strength they had before but now if I feel the pain again, I know what to do.
This entry was written by a WhereismyDoctor.com member.
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