I say 'thing' because I don't have a definite diagnosis, and 'injury' sounds like I DID something to it, and I'm not in the least bit convinced I did. Physio (who I have only spoken to on the phone, not seen) reckons I over stretched as I told him the first time I noticed pain was doing backwards windmills as part of a gym work out, but it was a case of 'ooh, that's a bit sore' rather than anything going ping, snap, crunch, whatever.
Pain remained at that sort of level for a couple of months, kept going to the gym, and with the exception of a couple of stretches, wasn't really a problem. But I did miss my yoga class for six weeks, and when I went back to that practically everything hurt. At that point I figured I needed to see a doctor, and saw a very pleasant locum who said the words 'painful arc' which allowed me to consult Dr Google and get a few ideas.
She referred me to Physio Direct - called them and, stupidly, when asked if I wanted an appointment or to speak to someone on the phone, opted for the latter. So I did that, still no real diagnosis, unsurprisingly with hindsight, and a set of emailed exercises which I don't fully understand. I'm now booked in to actually see someone. Unfortunately it's the same chap I spoke to on the phone, and I'm not actually impressed with him - he told me swimming was 'nice gentle exercise', before thinking and amending this to 'well, maybe not front crawl'. Maybe?! Like an idiot, I tried it a couple of weeks ago and nearly passed out. Breaststroke wasn't all that much better, and fortunately I thought better of trying backstroke.
Shoulder is now getting worse all the time. Movement is becoming limited - I'm struggling to brush my hair, undo my bra, lots of things - it's my right shoulder and I am VERY right handed. The painful arc which was a little higher than the usual 60-120 degrees is now 60-180, with having my arm straight up being particular painful. I can just about still sleep on that side, but have to be very careful how I do it, I have to lie sort of on the back of the shoulder. If I sleep on my back I snore, on my front is uncomfortable (big boobs) and if I sleep ALL the time on my left I don't think that'll do my left shoulder much good! I will probably have to talk to occ health at work about the fact I can barely swipe my work pass from the car, and I'm really pissed off that I can barely exercise as 2.5 stone weight loss and hard-earned fitness are starting to melt away.
Oh, and particularly distressingly yesterday I was getting shooting pains and loss of function in the arm that nearly rendered me unable to drink my glass of wine (until I thought to switch hands).
Seriously, I'm not filled with confidence at the thought of my physio visit. Do I really just learn how to do the exercises properly, do them, be patient? Is there more I can do, or ask for? Any experiences anyone can share that might help me see a way forward?
Please or to access all these features
Please
or
to access all these features
Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.
General health
Rotator cuff ... thing. Talk to me, please.
29 replies
DontCallMeBaby · 12/11/2012 16:43
OP posts:
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
Please create an account
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.