Severe shoulder pain

Physio helped me.

No trauma, intense pain and sudden onset overnight, I would think less likely rotator cuff and more inclined to think calcific tendinopathy. Your GP will be able to refer you for x-ray to rule this in/out. Otherwise could be early stages of frozen shoulder. A steroid injection would be indicated for either of these. Would also refer for physio in the meantime

Mine was cervical radiculopathy. I was in agony but had very good range of movement. The pain extended down my left arm and into my ring and little finger. Not uncommon in menopause and often misdiagnosed as frozen shoulder.The nurse postulated that it may have been exacerbated due to me having hypermobility in my shoulder.

I'm just starting to come out the other side of this. I couldn't work out how/what I'd done for weeks, but it was an over use injury - too much strimming and heavy cleaning. They were talking impingement and/or frozen shoulder too.
i have strong co-codamol from the GP and some physio exercises to do, 2 months on just as I was really despairing, I can finally feel it's got a bit better and hopefully will carry on improving

Private practitioner, have a google to find an osteopath in your area, and book in

I could have written your post, I woke up with one too. Frozen shoulder. Went away gradually when I went on hrt.

It could be early frozen shoulder or it could be a rotator cuff issue. If your GP practice has someone with a musculoskeletal specialty then get booked in with them.

My frozen shoulder started with it being achey and I’d put it down to lifting and carrying for a house move. The loss of range of movement with little pain (initially) was a surprise. I was lucky that it resolved itself in 6 - 8 months with physio: https://www.health.harvard.edu/stretching-exercises-frozen-shoulder).

I suspect I currently have a rotator cuff issue with my other shoukder, my range of movement isn’t afftected other than it’s sore putting my hand behind my back. I can still play golf, there’s no way I could have done that with frozen shoulder.

Also take a look at the BESS website:

bess.ac.uk/

It sounds like the start of frozen shoulder. Mine started with pain that went on for weeks on end, then the pain subsided for a bit and then it started to freeze. I’m currently still in this state 3 months later. I can’t fully lift my arm over my head, can’t fasten a bra behind my back, washing my hair is a struggle. I’m doing physio and I’m I’ve got naproxen for when the pain flares up.

OP have you had a virus recently? An outside chance it could be this: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15390-parsonage-turner-syndrome
I had similar symptoms to you and was diagnosed with the above last year - thankfully all recovered now.

That's frozen shoulder then. Try to get a cortisone injection asap as it can really help, especially in the early stages.

Sounds like early stages of frozen shoulder. The freezing stage can take a while. I had mine treated with hydrodilation and it was like a miracle cure.

I've had rotorcuff tendinitis in one arm and frozen shoulder in the other. I've also had a pinched nerve in my shoulder and neck before (I'm a side sleeper with alignment issues!)

The rotorcuff one I still get pain with, and have limited strength in that arm. I can't lift much with it. That was probably 7 years ago.
The frozen shoulder went from unmovable to bareable within 3-4 days if I remember rightly.

Pinched nerves are excruciating as well, but I'm not sure how to explain the difference in feeling!

Could just be a pulled muscle. Hurt like fuck for a few days then get better.

This sounds exactly like the rotator cuff injury I had.

The good news is that it is repairable and involves inexpensive physio which won’t cost much privately.

The bad news is that it takes a long time to resolve. I had to do significant amounts of weights based physio exercises and almost lost faith in the process after about 6 months. I was assured if I stuck to the process it would work. In the end it took about 12 months.

I’m so happy I did as I’m pain free now. It would have been so easy to have given up and just accepted the condition was something I had to live with but that’s a slippery slope to go down.

As others have suggested, possibly calcific tendonitis.

Mine came on overnight, and I assumed I'd slept badly on my arm/shoulder. Ridiculously painful. After three days of no sleep and unable to lift my arm, I was referred to a physiotherapist, who diagnosed calcific tendonitis based on pain location and range of movement. Over the counter ibuprofen barely touched it, but GP prescribed stronger anti-inflammatories which really helped.

The good news was it was intense and debilitating for a few days, but very rapidly faded and has not recurred.

Definitely get a pillow for bed that you can prop your arm on - really helps with rotator cuff injuries. Also some of that voltarol gel and get someone to rub it in for you

I've had pinched nerves in my shoulder twice. I'm also a side sleeper and my job involves repetitive shoulder motion. Went both times to an orthopedic doctor who gave me a cortisone shot and muscle relaxers. Helped almost instantly.

Ignore MN “doctors” & get a proper diagnosis. This will involve seeing, first your GP, who basically knows nothing, but will give you a referral for an ultrasound specialist, who will be able to give you a preliminary diagnosis. You can also then get a steroid injection which will help a lot with pain.
I had symptoms similar to yours, it was rotator cuff damage, & ultimately had my shoulder replaced. I am not saying this is what you have!!
ultimately, you need an MRI ( and an orthopod) to get the correct diagnosis, so off you go, contact GP ASAP & get the ball rolling.

Mine was calcific tendinitis. Got so painful that I almost passed out when trying to brush my hair. I went to a and e and they worked out that I had hurt my shoulder in a trampolining accident a few weeks before and the calcium had built up in the tear. It took a few months to go away completely but exercises helped.

I had it, mine was a frozen shoulder. It was very painful at first but it kept getting easier. It took 6 months to go completely but I still can't fasten my bra behind. I had physio exercises but I don't know if they did much good. I also had one a few years ago and it took the same amount of time to feel better.

I had agonising shoulder pain 2 days before we were due to go to France last year. I went to the GP who arranged an xray. Turned out to be calcific tendonitis. I took a shit-ton of painkillers on holiday. DH had to do all the driving on holiday which he was annoyed about. I couldn't even lift my arms to get dressed. Needed help washing my hair, couldn't swim in the pool, play boules. Was really awful.

Got back to the UK and had a steroid injection (fucking painful) and some physio which sorted it.
It was horrendous though. Hope you get it seen to.

Well you could try your GP first - but you may find that any referral you're given will mean you have to wait for some time.

You could always Google exercises for rotator cuff injuries and see what's recommended? (Although I'd definitely want a medical investigation first, to confirm that it is a rotator cuff injury)

I had a rotator cuff injury @cluckinell2 and went to see my osteopath.

Osteopaths are private, so you will have to pay - but it means you can go to them without needing to be referred by a GP.

The advice I was given was that there are three forms of treatment:

• rest
• exercise
• surgery

Sounds like torn rotator cuff, which is agony. Usually clears up in a few months though.
When you go to bed, lie on your back and put a pillow under your arm. Also a sling or tuck your arm into a shirt. At the very least this will remind you not to reach up and forward.