Shoulder muscle injury

[Shoedog112]

I know that shoulder tears are common, but first time happening for me. Extended my arm out put on a sports coat and I hear a “snap” in my deltoid. Looked online to get familiar with cause, treatment, recovery time. I did the usual ice, rest treatment for a week. Now on week 2 and it is still tender and have some mobility restrictions. 
 

I saw an orthopedist yesterday and he did some strength tests and took X-rays. He told me the rotator cuff looks fine and didn’t see anything concerning. Recommended to get back to normal use of my shoulder when the pain begins to subside. Also gave me a prescription for an MRI if I felt the need to see the muscle tear, but he felt it would heal in due time. 
 

for anyone that has has a torn muscle, ligament or tendon in the shoulder can you share the recovery process? I have been trying not to use the arm to limit any shoulder movement.  When I do have to move it, it feels tender, tight and difficult to move in some directions. It’s confusing. When I’m laying down, or sitting, the pain and mobility is worse. When I’m standing, it’s almost fully functional. 

[MikeBiDude]

Get the MRI, it will tell the whole story. My untrained eye could see the on the MRI the tear of my Supraspinatus muscle plain as day.

I’ve had 3 arthroscopic shoulder rotator cuff surgeries, two on right side and one on the left. For me, the recovery wasn’t a big deal, arm in a sling for a few weeks, physical therapy for 8-12 weeks, good as new. 

I’m not a super active athlete type, but was able to return to light workouts at gym pretty early on. 

You MUST complete the recommended post-op physical therapy.

[Shoedog112]

Was the surgery necessary for your muscle tear? I’m really trying to avoid surgery if possible. And is it common to have almost full function of the arm and shoulder (with tenderness) when standing but having some restrictions when laying down and even sitting? 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

As @MikeBiDude said, get the MRI.  Don't be a hero.

With this kind of injury, you want to know the full extent, good or bad.  A high-contrast MRI will give you a better picture of what's going on.

Do not wait for this to get worse....  Because it will.

[josh282282]

Hello

Josh here. Im a board certified physician & still practicing Medicine. This is important to keep in mind.  

My Medical Advice: Please stop listening to these non-physicians on this forum.

They are not trained nor skilled in giving medical advice, which you ABSOLUTELY are seeking on this forum.

Do you go to your accountant for plumbing advice? To your pastor in how to fix your leaky roof? (No & no, right?)

Per your report you said your Ortho recommended AGAINST an MRI, although he is open to it.

You are asking non-surgeons typical course progression & outcomes of your particular diagnosis,  a diagnosis they have never studied nor treated.

And to be sure, they are giving such medical advice (your Ortho does not seem yet very interested in the MRI, yet the Dr Googles are oh-so-strongly urging you to get one). 

It's impressive but unfortunate to see such Dr Googles in play.

They have not taken your medical history nor examined you. They have never ordered an MRI, nor know the clinical indications of when one is needed or not. 

Such negligent actions are potentially dangerous.  To you.

It took me many, many years of arduous training,  and now with decades of experience, to know when to give medical advice & when to withhold. 

These men on this forum way over estimate their skills. 

Yes, they care about you, I do not doubt that for a moment.  But they lack good judgment & insight in this field.

I examine shoulders all the time. I order xrays all the time. I even order MRIs of shoulders, too. But without taking a history from you, examining you, reviewing your xray, I can NOT answer your questions.  

Yet, given that,  My Advice to You: you have questions,  concerns? Write all your questions down & go BACK to your Ortho.  Ask THAT doctor your questions.

I'm sending hope your way, and to your shoulder, that your clinical situation improves. 

Josh 

PS. To ALL readers of this forum: I strongly suggest you reconsider using, as is very frequently done here, this forum for medical advice.  Their 20 min Google search type of advice here is untrained & therefore dangerous.  If only giving medical advice was that easy! Nearly a decade of medical school & residency and I am very skeptical of MY advice if it's not the proper forum for me to deliver it (like in an exam room). Yes, these men mean well, but they truly do not know how dangerous their advice is.

 

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

25 minutes ago, josh282282 said:

Hello

Josh here. Im a board certified physician & still practicing Medicine. This is important to keep in mind.  

My Medical Advice: Please stop listening to these non-physicians on this forum.

They are not trained nor skilled in giving medical advice, which you ABSOLUTELY are seeking on this forum.

Do you go to your accountant for plumbing advice? To your pastor in how to fix your leaky roof? (No & no, right?)

Per your report you said your Ortho recommended AGAINST an MRI, although he is open to it.

You are asking non-surgeons typical course progression & outcomes of your particular diagnosis,  a diagnosis they have never studied nor treated.

And to be sure, they are giving such medical advice (your Ortho does not seem yet very interested in the MRI, yet the Dr Googles are oh-so-strongly urging you to get one). 

It's impressive but unfortunate to see such Dr Googles in play.

They have not taken your medical history nor examined you. They have never ordered an MRI, nor know the clinical indications of when one is needed or not. 

Such negligent actions are potentially dangerous.  To you.

It took me many, many years of arduous training,  and now with decades of experience, to know when to give medical advice & when to withhold. 

These men on this forum way over estimate their skills. 

Yes, they care about you, I do not doubt that for a moment.  But they lack good judgment & insight in this field.

I examine shoulders all the time. I order xrays all the time. I even order MRIs of shoulders, too. But without taking a history from you, examining you, reviewing your xray, I can NOT answer your questions.  

Yet, given that,  My Advice to You: you have questions,  concerns? Write all your questions down & go BACK to your Ortho.  Ask THAT doctor your questions.

I'm sending hope your way, and to your shoulder, that your clinical situation improves. 

Josh 

PS. To ALL readers of this forum: I strongly suggest you reconsider using, as is very frequently done here, this forum for medical advice.  Their 20 min Google search type of advice here is untrained & therefore dangerous.  If only giving medical advice was that easy! Nearly a decade of medical school & residency and I am very skeptical of MY advice if it's not the proper forum for me to deliver it (like in an exam room). Yes, these men mean well, but they truly do not know how dangerous their advice

 

We suggested to go in for a simple MRI for a better idea of any damage.  It's not like we said he needed a full-frontal lobotomy.

And frankly, you haven't proved who you say who you are anyway, so all of this remains conjecture.  Including my post.

Welcome to the internet.

Edited June 23 by BenjaminNicholas

[MikeBiDude]

17 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

We suggested to go in for a simple MRI for a better idea of any damage

An MRI his doctor gave him a prescription for.

23 hours ago, Shoedog112 said:

Also gave me a prescription for an MRI…

 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

5 hours ago, MikeBiDude said:

An MRI his doctor gave him a prescription for.

[MidwestGuy25]

On 6/22/2024 at 1:13 AM, Shoedog112 said:

I know that shoulder tears are common, but first time happening for me. Extended my arm out put on a sports coat and I hear a “snap” in my deltoid. Looked online to get familiar with cause, treatment, recovery time. I did the usual ice, rest treatment for a week. Now on week 2 and it is still tender and have some mobility restrictions. 
 

I saw an orthopedist yesterday and he did some strength tests and took X-rays. He told me the rotator cuff looks fine and didn’t see anything concerning. Recommended to get back to normal use of my shoulder when the pain begins to subside. Also gave me a prescription for an MRI if I felt the need to see the muscle tear, but he felt it would heal in due time. 
 

for anyone that has has a torn muscle, ligament or tendon in the shoulder can you share the recovery process? I have been trying not to use the arm to limit any shoulder movement.  When I do have to move it, it feels tender, tight and difficult to move in some directions. It’s confusing. When I’m laying down, or sitting, the pain and mobility is worse. When I’m standing, it’s almost fully functional. 

I have a SLAP tear from a workout in October - long, slow recovery, but finally feeling almost back to normal. Agree with others that this forum probably isn't the best source of medical advice, but I think you were asking about recovery process experiences, so here was mine: like you, my x-ray didn't show anything, so I was referred to a great ortho who ordered the MRI and diagnosed the SLAP tear. He recommended physical therapy, which was painful and annoying (especially the daily exercises at home), but really made great progress over about 6 weeks. Ortho suggested surgery if the PT didn't fully resolve the issue, but luckily it's unnecessary. Shoulder injuries are no fun - I wish you a speedy recovery!

[MidwestGuy25]

On 6/22/2024 at 1:41 AM, Shoedog112 said:

Was the surgery necessary for your muscle tear? I’m really trying to avoid surgery if possible. And is it common to have almost full function of the arm and shoulder (with tenderness) when standing but having some restrictions when laying down and even sitting? 

I'm not giving advice, just speaking from my personal experience: my SLAP tear was very similar, not bad standing, but painful in bed and sitting when moving my arm around. I also wanted to avoid surgery, so I did all the physical therapy as recommended, including the daily home exercises - painful and annoying, but necessary. I made great progress with the PT, and now I am practically back to normal. Good luck with your recovery!

[Shoedog112]

On 6/23/2024 at 8:02 AM, MidwestGuy25 said:

I'm not giving advice, just speaking from my personal experience: my SLAP tear was very similar, not bad standing, but painful in bed and sitting when moving my arm around. I also wanted to avoid surgery, so I did all the physical therapy as recommended, including the daily home exercises - painful and annoying, but necessary. I made great progress with the PT, and now I am practically back to normal. Good luck with your recovery!

I ended up getting an MRI and sure enough, it was a 1.4 cm tear of the tendon under the supraspinatus muscle. Doc felt that surgery wasn’t necessary and go thru physical therapy for 6 weeks to strengthen the surrounding shoulder muscles. 
 

Question for those with experience - I can tell I’m getting more mobility, but still very tender when trying to lift or rotate my arm in certain directions. Is this normal? I tore it in mid June, it’s been 2 months and a slow process. I’ve also been going to cupping and massage treatments hoping the healing process will speed up - it’s not 🤷🏻‍♂️. Any other suggestions? Are the physical therapy movements challenging even thought they are very easy on the good shoulder? This is frustrating. Trying not to “favor” the arm by using my good arm to open door, reach etc.  

[+ Pensant]

I sustained a distal myotendonous junction tear on April 29 in Berlin. An MRI was not recommended and it’s gotten much better with PT. I’ve been using light weights for curls and it’s improving. Sadly, these tears take some months to resolve. What I miss most are pull-ups and doing toes to the bar; otherwise I can do most of my gym routine. I’m also taking Whole Body Collagen, a brand with three peptides (Fortigel, Fortibone and Verisol) for skin, hair and muscle repair.

Edited August 26 by Pensant

[Shoedog112]

6 hours ago, Pensant said:

I sustained a distal myotendonous junction tear on April 29 in Berlin. An MRI was not recommended and it’s gotten much better with PT. I’ve been using light weights for curls and it’s improving. Sadly, these tears take some months to resolve. What I miss most are pull-ups and doing toes to the bar; otherwise I can do most of my gym routine. I’m also taking Whole Body Collagen, a brand with three peptides (Fortigel, Fortibone and Verisol) for skin, hair and muscle repair.

I feel the same way about not being able to hang from a bar for any type of exercise. Also can’t use the double bars for exercises like tricep dips, etc. Too much stress on the shoulder/rotator cuff. For physical therapy, the weights and bands seems so light. Is it intended to be this light, or should I increase weight and resistance when doing at home exercises? 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:41 PM, josh282282 said:

Josh here. Im a board certified physician & still practicing Medicine. This is important to keep in mind.  

My Medical Advice: Please stop listening to these non-physicians on this forum.

Wonder where this 'board certified physician' went when many of us suggested the common-sense MRI, which proved correct.

You can never be harmed by practicing an abundance of caution.