Hi all,

I have been seeing a physical therapist for the past five weeks trying to get a handle on this tendonitis in my left shoulder/arm.

I have been diligent about the exercises, stretching and icing.

I understand that it will take time to feel better.

BUT....
emotionally, I want to be better, NOW.

My shoulder actually aches after physical therapy.

Has anyone else had trouble with the shoulder/rotator cuff? And if so, how quickly did you heal up?

Thanks,

janeann

I had tendonitis in the shoulder, elbow and ankle this past summer, all on the right side. I was in PT for three months and spent $$$ to get better. This was the second PT round for the shoulder and elbow. If you do what the therapist tells you, you will get better in time. But I always have a bit of tenderness in these areas and the wrong activity/movement tends to trigger it again. I have to keep reminding myself that I need to continue the stretches for the rest of my life. Somewhere I read that menopause puts us at greater risk for tendonitis due to the loss of estrogen from all over the body. Sigh ...

Hi! I have been having probs with my right rotator cuff since last June when I fell on a spiral stair case. I threw my right arm out to catch myself. I have been into aerobic dance and light weight training for many years but had to stop for a couple of months as my shoulder would get aggravated every time I would do a class. I will be going back to class on Jan 5, but will have to modify my upper arm movement plus no weights for a while. It has been very hard for me to modify as have never had an injury until last summer.

I understand what you are saying about wanting it better...NOW!!! I feel the same way but know I have to take things slow. I don't think that the rotator cuff is an easy injury to heal but the alternative is the surgery for it and I do not want to go through that...I have several friends who have and it's a really tough rehab.

Take care of yourself and go slow!!!

CG

Hi J,
I had this injury 3 years ago. I still believe that it was my hormonal profile at the time that set the scene for the injury to occur. I had trouble with my knees at the same time. It is interesting that a friend who is a really fit ice dance coach developed the same injury at 48 years old.
It was really nasty and I had terrible difficulty getting my clothes on and off. Some days the constant pain got really overwhelming. As with all orthopaedic injuries, the resolution is always so sloooooooooooooooow. It takes a couple of seconds to do the damage and a lifetime to get it healed! It went on so long I actually gave up hope of it ever getting better.
I was not lucky enough to have any physiotherapy. The waiting list for this kind of treatment in the UK can be up yo 2 years!
I think that you are doing all the right things and it is just a matter of being patient. I find every physical difficulty at this time of life so overwhelming. I used to be able to shrug my shoulders and get on with things but lately my ability to 'put up' with things has just gone. I get dispirited so quickly.
The good news is that I am now fully recovered and I am a bit more careful as to how I treat my body!
Keep on battling and I am sure that you will be pain free very soon!


XIII

Thanks gals!

After a fitful night. Can't find a comfortable position to lay. I am not so down in the dumps.

The therapist taped my arm/shoulder and the taping extends up to my neck. Curiously, it makes my shoulder feel
a bit more supported. But that ultrasound thing she did yesterday always stirs something up in my shoulder and makes it
ache before it feels better. After so many weeks of therapy, I have seen measurable progress, I just want to be back to
"normal" now.

I persist with the stretches and the therapy band exercises. No restrictions on my activity, BUT just fastening my bra takes
effort.

I agree with you, XIII, that this is hormonal related.

Gals, thanks for the input. Today, I will exercise in your honor! Slow and steady wins the race.

janeann

Help! How long does this tendonitis last? Is the recovery in fits and starts?

I am getting so frustrated .. and no amount of exercising/stretching seems to be completing the recovery.

My arm aches when I move it ... it just aches ... and I have limited range of motion.

Okay, just had to whine. I am getting tired of this pain.

Thanks for 'listening'.

janeann

I must have missed this thread when it was first posted.

I had this problem last year and was in despair that it would ever get fixed. I had sharp pains whenever I reached or otherwise extended my left arm. I went to see a massage therapist who is also a physiotherapist and she gave me some therapy band exercises to do. They did nothing at all. I then joined a gym and found out that there was a physiotherapist/osteopath/massage therapist there, so I booked to see him. He said that the exercises given by the other therapist were the wrong ones - they were to strengthen once the problem was sorted. He gave me some stretches and it went within four or five visits. It had actually started to improve after the first visit. I was so impressed my husband switched to him for the same problem and he's much better now. We had both been visiting the previous clinic for some years for various back and neck issues, but I won't be going back there in a hurry.

My advice - change your therapist.

This is too weird as I too have been having a problem with tendonitis in my left ankle and both elbows. How well does physical therapy help? The only thing I have tried is stretching and anti-inflammatories.
An ankle specialist suggested a cortisone shot but I have not done it.If anyone has nay suggestions I would greatly appreciate it .I have just had my bios changed so maybe this will help.
Thanks

Hi diamonddi,

I strongly suspect my tendonitis is hormone driven. I have been going to physical therapy since mid-November and have seen some improvement with range of motion. I feel like I am taking acetaminophen and ibuprofen like candy, with only marginal relief of pain. I have been rubbing menthol rub in my shoulder and wearing the menthol patches. I also have been icing my shoulder several times a day. This is so incredibly tedious. Especially with the slow resolution.

I am really, really tired of the pain, the exercises and the little improvement. Haven't seen an orthopedic doc yet, so I can't comment on the cortisone shots.

I have also been getting massages.

You know, it's like a woman feels bad enough with the peri stuff, why does this have to happen too?
And the very cold weather here is not helping.

I am sorry for such whining. Just had to get it out of my system. Knew you all would understand.

~feeling sorry for myself~

janeann

Hi JaneAnn...I sure am sorry to read that you are suffering so much with the RC injury! I wrote to you just before I went back to exercising. Taking two months off of any kind of shoulder movement seems to have done the trick for me. I went back to doing aerobic dance on Jan 5. I have very careful to not overdo the shoulder movements we do with choreograped dance moves and I also have stopped, for now, using weights. I am experiencing very little pain during and after exercising. I think for me, taking time off from exercising except for walking has been beneficial.

I never did see a Physical Therapist after I was injured. I decided that I just needed to give things a rest.

Take care and I hope you find some relief soon!

CG

I have tendonitis in both shoulders, but the right one is the one that actually bothers me. It's been coming on for many years. I've had 3 cortisone shots and they do help. I think that the shot's effectiveness depends on how good the person giving it is. Each shot has helped, but only the second one made a huge difference for many months.

At my last visit to the doc they took an x-ray that showed a definite knob at the top of my shoulder--calcification. Maybe that's why PT hasn't made any noticible difference; it's not going to take that knob away. Eventually I'll need surgery, but that doesn't scare me. At least I know I'll eventually feel better.

The good part of having the knob is, my bra strap never falls down!

Hi Careergrl and Parlie,

Well, the physical therapist has increased my sessions to twice a week. I am getting some kind of ionic treatment, massage and manipulation. I continue with gentle stretching. The day after therapy is awful. I just ache from the treatment.

I do see improvement, but it is so incredibly slow. My question for you gals who have experienced shoulder tendonitis, did your tendon "twitch" during exercise or range of motion ever?

~stretching my little shoulder ~

janeann

I don't remember my tendon ever twitching, janeann. Maybe it's just reacting to the exercise and it's a good sign. Hope so, anyway!

I wasn't sure where to post this but since it relates to my shoulder, I decided to try it here. I have had pain in both arms, but esp my right once since August. MRIs showed nothing on arms and some stenosis in my back/neck. Long story short, I went to an orthopedic surgeon today because I'd fractured my left arm (!) and I talked with him about the arm pain I've had for months. He listened well, asked ?'s and had me try and do some range of motion exerecises. He said he's very confident I have what is called "frozen shoulder"!!! It hurts so bad! I can't sleep or find a comfortable position in which to sleep. He showed me some stretching exercises to do 4 times/day and also gave me a referral to PT to get more stretching exerecises. He said it can take a couple YEARS for full healing (!!!!) but that most people who do the exercises get about 75% better within 2-3 months. I'm hoping so -the pain is horrific at times and pretty constant overall. He said one of the telemark signs is that when you make a sudden movement, there is searing pain. Yup, that's me. He said to think of the scar tissue adhering like velcro ... when you pull/move suddenly, it's like tearing that velcro apart. Yup, that's just what it feels like. I think because I've had this ofr months and didn't know it -I've gotten all stiff/impacated in other muscles as well - chest, and legs at times. GEEZ! Another meno thing -who knew?!!!

Hi kathleent,

Interesting to hear about the pain in your arms and the diagnosis of frozen shoulder. I have been diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, but because I haven't made the best progress in physical therapy, I have now been referred to an orthopedist. My appointment is next week. I have been doing five pages of exercises from the physical therapist and have had a smidgen of improvement, but still my arm won't arch like it should and I have awful shoulder pain.
I am taking tylenol, alternating with ibuprofen (until my stomach says to quit the ibuprofen because it is hurting too much) and still icing every day. Cannot believe that I haven't made more progress in therapy. All I can do is 'think' about my arm .... it just doesn't feel right. I wonder if I have the 'frozen shoulder' too because i cannot sleep on that side or find a comfy way to lay either. I believe that this IS a peri/meno thing.

~continuing to ice, exercise and stretch the shoulder~
~and whine~

~janeann~

Hi to all who have been following this thread. Well, my physician and my physical therapist both recommended I go to the orthopedic doctor for further evaluation. I had an appointment last Friday and there was good news ... my shoulder and upper arm are still strong, and bad news, shoulder impingement. So based on my x-rays, the doctor could see a small bone spur and also that the place where the tendon slides through is making some efforts to build up bone because of the wearing down by arthritis. He can see some shallow bone building up to make the space where the tendon slides smaller. So, his treatment of choice was a cortisone shot. Hurt like the dickens. I cursed his name several times over the weekend ... my whole shoulder ached and burned as the medicine was absorbed. He used a 23 gauge needle, about 2+ inches long to inject 8 ccs of medicine in the joint. He easily found the landmarks for the shot, and got it right in the right spot. OUCH. I had to lay off all stretching and exercises until Wednesday and restart physical therapy next week. Seems as if I am on a merry go round that will never end. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I would love to hook my bra without pain.

You PS gals are the best for listening.

~off to bed, hope I can sleep free of pain~

~janeann~

Jeananne, I so feel for you. I hope you get much needed relief soon. My shoulder-arm (and chest) stuff continues. My dr has me now on darvocet, ibuprophen and 1 week of steroids (pill form) for one week. If I'm not at least 30% better, he wants to do a bone scan on my arm! I am so frustrated and in such pain at times. I can say since doing the meds, I am now sleeping better and not being woken up with pain. But I still have a certain degree of pain all the time and my range of motion is not good. I too am doing stretching exercises given to me by PT 4 times a day. I see a slight improvement but nothing that seems to really last. I do not want the bone scan. But the dr is now questioning the level of pain - what could be causing it. MRI - normal in September (this started in Aug), chest xrays normal. MRI of neck, thorax showed stenosis -but he didn't think it would be causing this degree of pain. Today my PT says she wonders if it's something with the rotator cuff. I am so frustrated and worn out from all of this.

Please take care and know that I so feel for you! kathleent

I never injured my shoulder (except as a very young child), but I've been having increasing pain for over 10 years. I just had a second round of MRI and it's gotten worse in the past year-and-a-half. The first time just showed tendinitis; now it shows the tendinitis and a bone spur and a tear in the rotator cuff. I could tell things were worse because the pain used to be localized to one spot...now it hurts in lots of places from my collarbone to my lower arm.

So...I'm having arthroscopic surgery to get it all taken care in a couple weeks. My surgery will be real run-of-the-mill stuff and I'll have PT after a while, but I'm looking forward to the start of getting my shoulder better. Yay!

My sister had frozen shoulder a few years ago and had surgery for it. She said the PT afterwards was so hard (and she's a fitness trainer and used to exercise). She thinks that if she had started PT as soon as she started having pain, she probably could've avoided the surgery. But she is doing well now and her shoulder is strong and pain-free.

I wish all you ladies good luck with your shoulder issues and I hope things are feeling better soon. I know what a pain it is when you can't find a place to put yourself so you can sleep at night. So frustrating!

I never injured my shoulder (except as a very young child), but I've been having increasing pain for over 10 years. I just had a second round of MRI and it's gotten worse in the past year-and-a-half. The first time just showed tendinitis; now it shows the tendinitis and a bone spur and a tear in the rotator cuff. I could tell things were worse because the pain used to be localized to one spot...now it hurts in lots of places from my collarbone to my lower arm.

So...I'm having arthroscopic surgery to get it all taken care of in a couple weeks. My surgery will be real run-of-the-mill stuff and I'll have PT after a while, but I'm looking forward to the start of getting my shoulder better. Yay!

AAARRGGG!! Help! My computer's possessed!!! Sorry for repeated (partial) posts!!