UKC

Looking for a bit of advice on a shoulder injury I've picked up. I hurt it 10 days ago. It was from over use really and forgetting I'm a middle aged desk jockey! I strained my back lifting a bin and then after a day of shifting outboards on and off boats and moving wood, bailing a sinking boat and then trying to drag it out of the water was the final straw and it's not been right since. I have full movement of my arm and the pain is quite mild but I can feel it behind my right shoulder blade when I breathe deeply, it throbs a bit and any movement where I externally rotate my shoulder hurts.

I have an appointment with a good physio who I've seen before in just under three weeks and I've been alternating ice and cold in the evenings, resting it, sleeping on my back, taking ibuprofen and gently massaging it. It's not terribly painful but I'm not really able to carry anything heavy with it without it feeling worse later.

Is there any point in going to a doctor? Would wearing a sling help? I haven't had particularly great experinces of GP's dealing with physical injuries and the pain is in no way unmanageable but I want to do anything I can to recover as soon as possible.

Any advice appreciated

It sounds like you may have moderately strained your infraspinatus muscle (one of the four rotator cuff muscles). Unless the damage is serious, physio is almost always the best therapy and generally has good results if you can find the right exercises and be consistent with them. Its great that you still have full range of motion, you probably need to rest it until you can manage light exercises and gradually build up the resistance over time (avoiding pain).

Every GP is different, but I think you ought to go see them. Personally, my GP was very good at diagnosing my shoulder injury (though it didn't get better until I saw an excellent private physio who specialised in shoulder injuries). I think my GP did give me a sling to wear, though I couldn't lift my arm above chest height at the time. 

Best of luck with your recovery. Shoulder injuries are no fun!

I was recommended these exercises by the NHS physio. They help me enormously - I have a sore shoulder at the moment.

The Derby Shoulder Instability Rehabilitation Programme (Official) - YouTube 

Steve

Your GP surgery may well have a physio who will see you on the NHS.

You can self refer into physio in my health board

Definitely worth haveing a session with a senior/experienced physio as (given your description of the location of the pain deep behind and when externally rotated) it could be a labral tear of the cartridge. It turns out I have been living and climbing with one for years and keep re-injuing it, gradually making it bigger, takeing longer to recover from flair ups with serious consequences if it fully rips off the bone. A senior physio suspected this after examination and MRI confirmed. I am now awaiting surgery.

Had I know earlier that it wasnt 'just a muscle pull' then I would have gone down the surgery route earlier before I weakened it further, and lost more time to re-injury.

My GP (when I eventually went to see them) made the referal to Senior Physio, who referred to MRI, which lead to Consultant orthopedic appointment.

Hope it's not that bad for you, but something to bear in mind if treatment for muscle pulls does not fix it, or it happens again in same place. Definitely worth seeing someone. 

I have no advice to offer but can fully appreciate the "middle aged" bit. One night this week I fell asleep in a chair after a few birthday drinks. I must have been sat awkwardly because for days afterwards my hips felt like I'd been doing gymnastic floor routines in my sleep. They still aren't fully recovered which has scuppered my weekend bouldering plans, which is a real pita.

Thanks for the advice. I'm certainly glad it looks like I haven't injured it further. I have been referred to a physio on the NHS before by my GP and they were excellent but it was quite a long wait.

Thanks for the link Steve, some of those look a bit much for me but might be able to incorporate it when I get some more strength back.

A labral tear doesn't sound much fun, I'll keep it in mind if it doesn't recover properly. Hope you managed to get back to normal after your surgery

I had a chat with the physio that I'm seeing and from my description he thinks it's overuse and the best option for me is to keep moving it within the limits of pain. He said as much as possible try not to compensate for it by lifting my shoulder up and trying to keep natural health movement as long as it's not causing further pain.

Thanks again for the advice, fingers crossed it starts to ease up a little and I can work on strengthening it by the time my appointment comes around.