To think this is a vaccine injury?

[Pheasantplucker2]

I'm all for vaccines, and we are all up to date. This is not an anti-vaccine thread.

I had my flu and covid jabs at the same time in November. No problems with the jabs themselves, but developed a very achy arm immediately after. Presumed it was a short term thing, but it hasn't been right since. I wince in pain when I have to move it above waist height or if anyone touches that shoulder or I lie on it in my sleep. It's constantly bothering me and I am fed up of taking ibuprofen all the time (which don't make a huge amount of difference, they just take the age off).

I've googled it and apparently it can happen if the nurse injects too high up into the shoulder muscle - it's called SIRVA. Has anyone else experienced this and does it go away eventually? It's almost impossible to get a GP appointment with my surgery at the moment.

Not heard of SIRVA before but a quick look on WebMD suggests that it may gradually improve. Some people never recover fully and will have pain or reduced movement. Most people who have this will experience it for at least six months but a third of people do fully recover.

It could be a vaccine injury or it could be that, because of the initial pain (that’s normal), you shifted your posture slightly and that is causing your ongoing symptoms. I’d recommend a sports massage and a quick trip to a physio otherwise it may continue getting worse. Try ibuprofen gel and applying warmth to it to relax the area. If you do that routinely then it’s likely to see improvement over a couple of weeks or so.

It's not due to the vaccine, it's the size of the needle that is used.

SIRVA isn't down to the vaccine, but rather poor technique on the part of the vaccinator. Treatment is the same as for frozen shoulder.

Oh wow, I think my mum has experienced v similar symptoms after receiving a fourth covid booster several months ago. She's struggling to get a GP's appointment-had two cancellations already trying to see someone about this.

Yes !!! I had it I thought I had a frozen shoulder I ride a lot I couldn’t ride properly but it’s nearly gone now 1 year
on

I had SIRVA after my very first covid vaccine.

I had gone to one of the big vaccination centres, bit of a conveyer belt, and it was done by quite an elderly nurse who I am guessing either came out of retirement or from another role. She did not seem to be experienced -guessing from the way she handled the equipment. I'm a doctor and did get a bit of a sense of foreboding...really wished I'd listened to my instinct and stopped the whole thing. Anyway, she approached from very high and seemed to put the needle into the joint space...she then couldn't push down the plunger and was making all kinds of effort noises. Again I should have said stop but I did that stupid polite, grinning and bearing it thing.

When it was all over my shoulder was completely numb. By the time I got home I had severely reduced movement in my right arm, from the shoulder joint. Next day, huge red joint swelling.

Was told I had SIRVA and joint wash out was discussed but eventually it was decided just to wait and see.

It took MONTHS for my right arm and shoulder to feel normal again.

Never had anything like it from any vaccine before or since.

Could be loads of things, SIRVA is really rare but worth investigating, more likely an indirect result (e.g. shift in posture which caused the injury) which is associated with the jab but not necessarily the needle causing damage.

I would look at physio, you can actually self refer for NHS services without needing a GP appointment so I would look at that first. If you can, you will get faster treatment going private, which might be worth considering based on how much it seems to affect your daily life.

Interesting. I had my third jab a year ago. The pain! As soon as it went in it was agony, whereas with the other 2 I hardly felt a thing. My arm has been sore for so long. I've now been diagnosed with frozen shoulder in the same arm after putting up with the pain. It became worse in October. Could be a coincidence of course.

Thanks. I've tried ibuprofen gel and it doesn't make a huge difference. It feels deep in the shoulder rather than a surface thing. I will try the physio though, hopefully can get a private appointment fairly quickly.

Good to hear it's cleared up, but that's a long time! I can even feel it sitting here typing. I normally ignore stuff like this but it's bothering me more and more.

I shall try physio and keep trying to get a GP appointment as there are recommendations for a cortisol shot online.

Thanks. It is very coincidental if it's not related to the jab - I got the sore shoulder straight away and it's never worn off.

I will try for physio, we have a good one locally.

That sounds awful. What a horrible experience for you, but glad you are recovering.

Ironically the jabs themselves seemed to be administered very efficiently and were pretty painless. The shoulder became sore pretty much straight away, but I presumed that was par for the course. I had the same with my other jabs but it went after 24 hours.

It's not great as I'm a professional musician and struggling to play at times.

Try keeping it as warm as possible (actual heat, not artificial heat) so, hot water bottles or warm showers onto the area etc, that should help to relieve the tension on the area. I had a cortisol shot into my ankle - unfortunately for me it didn't work but (before I had it) I was warned that they're incredibly painful but mine really, really wasn't - just felt like an injection. So, if you get told the same, don't worry about it.

I have SIRVA from a shingles vaccine. It’s been more than a year of pain at this point. I’ve had an MRI, done prescribed exercises, had a steroid shot, and am having physio including dry needling, but if anything it’s getting more painful. I’ve seen a GP, Sports Medicine specialist, physio and osteopath. (I’m in the US.)

Feeling a bit hopeless but I’m continuing the exercises and hoping eventually it clears up. I might also look into PRP treatment which has worked for me for tendinitis in the past.

Occasionally the pain is enough that I nearly throw up, but mostly it’s a dull pain. I struggle to get dressed, or do anything that involves lifting that arm or reaching behind me.

I still get vaccines as needed and they’ve all been fine other than that one shot

Mine lasted about a year, done by a pharmacist in Boots. She seemed to have no technique at all and it was much too high.

I've had this since my flu jab at the end of October - it's so painful! Can't get a GP appointment for love nor money at the moment, but will keep trying.

I had this with all my covid jabs. I couldnt lift my arm for a good week after but it did eventually wear off.

Basically, they should be injecting 2-3 fingers below (I do three as I have little fingers) below the bony bit that sticks on the shoulder. It's worth checking where you think they should be injecting on yourself, especially for something like a flu vaccine. It can be actually quite difficult to see/feel on some people. You don't want to go too low either as it can go into the radial nerve.

A good friend of mine got it and a little bit of ultrasound treatment on the area really helped.

Never heard of sirva.

Why does it happen though? Is the needle harming a nerve or something?
How is it cured?

It's more than just having a sore arm after a vaccine. @Raindancer411 if this happened to you every time, it wasn't SIRVA but just a bad reaction. SIRVA is pretty rare and a one off event whereas it sounds like you reacted badly each time.

There's info here:
www.webmd.com/vaccines/what-is-sirva

Basically it's a risk related to how a vaccine is administered. Shoulders are pretty complicated joints. Recovery is quite hard to predict as the specifics from one injury to the next will vary depending on what exactly was injured.

In my case, it was felt that I had been injected into the joint space. As the vaccine itself is sterile, I was told that provided that the joint space remained its natural sterile environment, it should be ok...but that if there was any sign of infection I might need the joint space surgically washed out.

@Pheasantplucker2 hope it gets better soon. It's so frustrating, especially when you rely on your arm for work and everything. I couldn't drive for a couple of weeks, couldn't ride my bike. Got back to normal stuff after a few weeks but was stuck with an arthritis type pain for longer than the actual functional deficit.

I had what I suspect was SIRVA when I had my second covid jab. Similar to PP, it was administered in a production-line scenario by a pharmacist.

Had an ultrasound which showed some damage to the birsa, and I was told physiotherapy was an option if it didn't resolve itself.

It did, but took about 3 months. No long-lasting effects, thankfully.

Hope it works out for you.

My colleague hasn’t been able to lift her arm above shoulder height, since her first vaccine. Hopefully it will gradually improve for you both over time.

From www.vaccineshoulderinjury.com/vaccine-shoulder-injuries/sirva/

Common Manifestations of SIRVA
Three of the most common manifestations of shoulder injury related to vaccination are: (i) rotator cuff injuries, (ii) bursitis and (iii) adhesive capsulitis.

Rotator Cuff Injuries
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons surrounding the shoulder joint. The rotator cuff keeps the upper arm bone set within the shoulder socket, allowing free movement of the arm. When improperly administered, a vaccine injection can injure the rotator cuff, resulting in the symptoms noted above.

Bursitis
Bursitis is an injury or inflammation of the bursa around the shoulder joint.
A bursa can become sore and inflamed as the result of an improperly administered vaccination, resulting in stiffness, pain and reduced range of motion.

Adhesive Capsulitis
Adhesive capsulitis (also known as “frozen shoulder”), is another manifestation of shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) that results from receipt of an improperly administered injection. Adhesive capsulitis is characterized by severe stiffness leading to extremely limited shoulder mobility. Like other forms of SIRVA, individuals who experience adhesive capsulitis often face years of symptoms and may require corrective surgery.

Mine is thought to be a rotator cuff injury. It's hurting like fuck today, although I suspect the exercises I'm currently doing to fix it are part of the reason it's hurting.

I realise this is an old thread but just wondered if anyone has had any improvement?