Shoulders - Mystery Pain - Help !

[Babachu]

Here it is. I'm 50 years old in very good shape, weight, cardio, etc.

 

About 6 months ago my shoulders began to hurt unbelievably - both of them - - in the front and side areas. Raising a tool over my head has become excruciating. Painful in the morning when I wake. Hurts deep in the tendons with pressure.

 

There's nothing I did out of the ordinary to cause this.

 

Anybody have this problem ? Any ideas how to make it go away ?

 

Thanks, -g

 

Edited February 27, 2007 by Babachu

[Mr_Phil]

Yes.

 

Guess what? You're getting old.

[Babachu]

C'mon, I thought this was a discrimination-free board....besides, it's the future.....

[layton]

shoulder impingement is a common symptom of getting older, especially if you've used/abused you shoulders.

But with just the facts you've presented, I'd go get checked out asap since there are some red flags for nasties. Could be an inflammatory arthritis, calcific tendonitis, impingement, etc etc etc. Good news is it's on both sides, and impingement is the most likely culpret. You really should go see a specialist, i.e. orthopedic surgeon. Unless someone claims to be an expert on the board here, I'd take any exercises with a grain of salt until you get checked out by an expert. Report back!

[Babachu]

Thank you layton. And I think the impingement idea is the right starting point. Here's a link:

 

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?thread_id=133&topcategory=shoulder

 

that does a better job than I can of describing the symptoms that match what my complaint is.

 

maybe there's only so many tool plants you get in a lifetime ? - - we'll see...........

 

 

Edited February 28, 2007 by Babachu

[brukb]

 

Sounds like impingement tendonitis of the Supraspinatus and long head of the Biceps. The question is why did it start? In the absence of obvious trauma it's usually due to abnormal or increased overhead or throwing work. Several things can predispose a person to this; muscle imbalances in the rotator cuff and posterior shoulder girdle, abnormal rhythm between the scapula and the shoulder joint, poor posture, etc.

 

See someone to rule out anything of the red flags like layton mentioned, then make sure you see someone familiar with dealing with shoulder injuries that can tell you why your pain likely started, how to recover from it and how to prevent it in the future.

cheers,

Bruk Ballenger, PT