Shoulder Injury

Just got back from the specialist and didn't find out much. Took a weird fall Sunday and it felt like something either tore, or was strained in the front of my shoulder. He couldn't tell if it was rotator cuff, where the bicep connects to the shoulder, or just a strain. He said I could either wait a month and see if it gets better, or go straight to an MRI.
So here's the question - Should I wait and pray it will heal it's self, or should I jump on the MRI.
I haven't come even close to meeting my deductible this year, so the 1K price tag is a bit daunting at this point.

MRI's don't always provide a 100% certain answer, especially if there is scar tissue in the area of the study.

Shoulders are tricky. What hurts it? Is is swollen? Hows the range of motion?

There's no swelling that I can tell, I can move it a little with out pain (in my mind it's only a little, not sure what others would call it) but I can move it back, a bit forward, and a bit outward w/o pain, but once I get about 30-45 degrees out from straight down it gets really tight in the muscle. If I use my other arm to put it somewhere, I can put it about anywhere I want to, it's just when I'm using the muscle to lift it up, or things like that. sitting still doesn't really hurt, but when sleeping it will wake me up due to aching and I have to change positions. Otherwise, it's the use of the shoulder muscles which kill it, mainly the muscles on the side and front, the back ones don't seem to mind anything

just wait and ice! i know ice sounds so cliche..but ice helps so much. yeah what motion makes it hurt?

Darin, I am dealing with the same thing. It wouldn't heal while I was riding although I could tolerate it. I haven't riden in a month because of work and it is actually starting to feel better. The doctor gave me shots in my shoulder and thinks its my labrum (sp?). I am just going to ride mine out until next year because I can ride, the sleeping thing is most frustrating to me because I sleep on that shoulder. Gotta love it!

I broke my shoulder and didn't know it for 18 months. I kept being told it just needed to be strengthened. Went through PT and it was still dislocating all the time. Finally got an MRI saw the problem and had surgery within a month. Shoulder is doing so much better. Basically I guess I am saying wait a month and if it isn't better definitely get an MRI. Shoulders are definitely tricky.

Give it some time to heal up, if the pain stops go right into making it stronger. I separated mine and it hurt for a month. Once it calmed down I played racquetball twice a week, helps break down scar tissue and get your range of motion and explosive muscles firing. Best exercise ever!

go to www.activerelease.com.
find someone in your area.
this has fixed a lot of shoulders that were told they needed surgery.

Hmm, sounds like muscle damage to me... When I dislocated my shoulder I could definitely still move it through the full range once it was back in place but it hurt all the time not just certain angles, also the muscles didn't really hurt it felt like the inside of the joint, not surprising since I ripped off ligaments and tore my labrum, stretched the joint capsule from sitting in a hospital for an hour with the joint dislocated... I just did something similar and resulted in the same sort of injury as what you're talking about a few weeks ago out surfing, I think you've probably done a number on your anterior and lateral deltoid, but probably not a rotator cuff injury since it doesn't hurt in the back.

(Message edited by jtnz on August 25, 2009)

(Message edited by jtnz on August 25, 2009)

Yikes. Yeah, my range of motion is getting a bit better (at least where I can move it on it's own). It is getting easier to reach forward, back is fine, but going out to the side just kills me. I'm not sure if I should be icing or heating right now though. I was thinking about riding late this week, just taking the roam out and toodling around working on form and what not, possibly surfing, so I guess we'll see. Either way, I highly doubt I'll be throwing anything to the flats for a while

Jos - You said it sounded like I did a number on my anerior and lateral delt. How bad is this - what sould I be doing for it?

Darin, I had an injury on my shoulder and the process was very long with my doctor. I would not wait and request and MRI immediately. I don't want to wait 8 plus months to get surgery. I rather get it over with and be on my way to recovery. The MRI will tell you right away, so why wait?

Waylon - my biggest thing is he said I'd be fine waiting a month to get the MRI and I might get better because there was no evidence anything really tore in there, and he doubted a rotator cuff tear. That, and I'd be pretty frustrated if I dropped the grand for the MRI and they told me I'll be fine in a month. I'm definately going back in if it doesn't get better, but I'm just nervous

Destroy it and than fix it when it goes bad!

Get the MRI. I fell wrong on mine last fall fighting with a drunk college kid. It just hurt when I moved certain ways and the Doc told m the same thing as you, go to PT for 6 weeks or get the MRI. I got the MRI and they found the tear and some other stuff floating around. I got the surgery and was in work conditioning before I would have even had a answer if I had waited for the MRI. Was back to work in June and almost as good as new. Keep up with your therapy, it really does help.

Therapy was a waste to the taxpayers and it also drove a hole through my pocket