Shoulder and upper arm pain

[shiningstar2]

So nice February I have had a constant dull ache in my shoulder and upper left arm. I fell over impacting that side of my body in April and the soreness/injury became worse.
I can raise my arm above my head with a bit of pain but can't put it behind my back at all in the way you would reach around to put a cost on, wrap a towel around you or get dressed. It is also difficult to carry anything heavy, like lifting a pan, carrying a shopping bag on that side.
I haven't done anything about it until now because I thought it would gradually get better on its as own however the reverse is true and it's definitely impacting my quality of life a bit now.
Tried to get a doctor's appointment two weeks ago but could only get a phone appointment which is tomorrow.
Anyone had this and might know what's causing it please? I can't se how a telephone appointment is going to help. I think the arm/shoulder needs a scan to determine the problem but don't think I'll get one in the current climate with the NHS under pressure. A physio I know said don't let them send you to a physiotherapist without first having a scan to find out what's wrong as exercises when rest or surgery is needed could make the problem worse. Any thoughts welcome from anyone who has had a similar problem or any health professionals who think they recognise the problem. Thank you.

It depends on what is torn though, and how it affects you. The shoulder is a complex and crowded structure, and when they do MRIs of people with no symptoms may turn out to have partial thickness RC tears, and some full thickness ones. My tear is full thickness so cannot heal - the tendon is entirely detached - but with physio and strength work I barely notice it. So some RC tears can be managed without surgery, others not (and a labral tear say is likely to need surgery as I understand it). So "a tear" is not a diagnosis or a prognosis- you need much more info and assessment.

Thank you this is helpful MsMartini as I have no clue. Do you think I should be having a scan before physio is tried to assess the damage so a physiotherapist would know what he/she is dealing with?

Not sure. As I said before, physios are well used to assessing shoulders without a scan and noting anything that suggests certain exercises are not safe. That's fairly standard. But as you have been advised differently and sound (understandably) worried, maybe that would help? If you can afford private sports physio you can always email and ask, or go for the initial assessment and see what they say.

Thanks for your thoughts on this MsMartini. I think I would be happier to see a physio after a scan so if this is not offered I might arrange a private scan. Seeing physio in two weeks. Will come back and say what happens 😀

Hi OP, have just come across this thread, did you decide what to do in the end?

@Softycatchymonkeys. I did mean to come back on and update again but there was a wait for physio the for scan so it took about 3 months and I completely forgot. Basically I had some physio which didn't really make any difference so I was sent for a scan. Turned out it was a rotator cuff injury but not a tear. The scan reassured me that I wasn't doing any more damage with the physio. So I continued with the appointments. Eventually discharged to continue exercises at home which I did. It took awhile but it did eventually heal. The scan was really helpful because I then made far more effort with the exercises. Didn't any longer think that too much stretching movement might make the injury worse. A previous scan years ago had shown slight bone weakness in that shoulder and I've been being prescribed extra strong vit d/calcium for years. The weakness in that area gave some concern the damage might be bad and the physio organised the scan to rule a tear out which was very helpful and gave me confidence to follow through with the physio exercises. 😃