Is This Pain from a Rotary Cuff tear...please HELP??????

my dr & I truly believed that I had torn my rotator cuff. Xrays - which were useless, then finally a MRI....which showed that the cuff was not torn, but "frayed" due to inflamed bursa. The exercises the dr had given me were actually accelerating the injury!

So I was sent to an orthopedic surgeon. He reviewed my case & recommended a cortisone shot & ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation ....which was his #1 priority. Then I was given different exercises to rebuild my strength after allowing the cortisone to do its job.

It's been 8 months since the cortisone shot & a world of difference! I do not have full use of my arm, but danged close....& I'm so thankful that I had a dr who did not jump into reconstructive surgery & was adamant about trying other methods 1st!!

If you have been under the treatment of your PCP, I would ask for a referral (if needed) to an orthopedic specialist for further treatment. If not you may want to be evaluated by your PCP 1st to get an initial evaluation since there is so much history in that area.

Make sure to ask lots of questions and have your history--in detail--written down. Include copies of all previous imaging with reports.

It is not always easy to diagnosis a rotator cuff tear. The symptoms usually include decrease in range of motion in your shoulder, particularly raising (abducting) your arm from your body. Some times the symptoms lead right to the MRI to confirm the diagnosis. I wasn't clear on exactly where the pain was or when your skiing injury took place. Also, your current range of motion would be helpful to know.

I just wanted to let you know that if you haven't had and X-ray you will most likely need one before you get an MRI for insurance reasons. An X-ray can show boney abnormalities while an MRI shows tendons, ligaments and other "soft" structures. You may need an MRI arthrogram to show a tear. This typically includes an regular MRI, then an injection into the shoulder (with anesthetic to numb the area), and then another MRI.

Good luck and do your research.

you need an mri, it could be so many different things. rotator cuff, bursitis, arthritis, etc. and dont be too quick to surgery if they recommend it, just my opinion, my father in law had rotator cuff surgery and they really screwed him up, cut one of his nerves. if you do it, go to the best specialist you possibly can. good luck.

Rotator cuff tears cannot be diagnosed by descriptions and a list history.
Tears need imaging- MRI's and a doctor's visit-- to be diagnosed for sure.

I have known many people who thought they had tears: football players, tennis players, swimmers, and all turned out to not be torn. Yes, they were in lots of pain....and still had injuries, but there are so many other shoulder injuries besides rotator cuff tears.

See an orthopedist or sports med doc.

D. Carl Hiller is an excellent Chiropractor in Paoli, PA, which is about 45 minutes away from you, but he'll be able to diagnose your problem and may be able to suggest a Chiropractor closer to you. You may require an MRI to confirm a rotator cuff tear or damage to your labrum (another part of your shoulder joint). That said, there are many things that could cause your pain that are not part of your shoulder joint. Keep searching for a doctor who can reproduce your pain during their examination and can explain what is injured and why it is causing pain.

Good luck!

I had a tear in my rotator cuff due to a work injury and the pain was attrocious. Still years later I cannot paint or cut the grass without my arm hurting. I had as many cortizone shots as were allowed in one year because I wanted to avoid surgery. I read an article at our chiropractors office one day about helping rotator cuff problems. I tried it and I'll be darned. It worked amazingly! They put these tape strips on my shoulder and ran it down my arm to take the inflamation out. I am so glad I went there instead of another shot or more prednisone! It has been a month and I feel better than ever! Try it. It works!

I recommend seeing an orthopaedic specialist. You may need a referral from your primary care physician. Ultimitely you need an MRI to see any rotator cuff injuries, as well as injuries to tendons, muscles, etc. Insurance may require an xray first because it is cheaper. That would only show anything wrong with the bone though.

An MRI should give you answers because that shows just about everything!

I would really think that a chiropractor, physical therapist or physiatrist (an MD who is a doctor of physical medicine, like a orthopedist who doesn't do surgery) would be able to get a handle on what is going on with your shoulder. If you are saying the pain under the surface implies that there is pain when you move the arm, but you cannot locate the pain with palpation, you may not be able to reach the spot that would recreate the pain indicating a rotator cuff injury. If it doesn't hurt when you move your arm or lift something and the pain is random, then it may be radicular pain from your neck. I'm not sure from your brief description what has been ruled out. I would have to assume the easy stuff has been ruled out which would include obvious rotator cuff tendonitis or tear. An MRI would show a tear if your lucky, depending on the location. Because of there are actually 4 muscles that make up each rotator cuff complex and some of the tendons are longer than others even though the insertion points are fairly close in proximity, the tear could be in many possible locations and the shape of the shoulder in general makes it difficult to get a diffinitive NO answer from an MRI.
If you cannot recreate the pain doing anything specific, you may have neck issues that radiate pain to the shoulder. An X-Ray of your neck and shoulder would give some clue if spinal or bony issues could be a causative factor. Depending on your age a beautiful perfect neck alignment with good spacing between the vertebrae does not mean the nerves coming out between them are perfectly happy. Impingement of the nerve at this point could still cause shoulder pain. However, a neck that does not look so great would indicate that nerve impingement is even more likely. You would also want to include the shoulder joint to see the integrity of the bone and spacing of the arm bone in relation to the shoulder blade, which has the part that the arm bone attaches to. Shoulders are tough, so it is not surprising that you are confused as to what to do next.
You have the added complication of having issues with your lung and the surgery that managed that problem. There is certainly the possibility that you have weakness and scar tissue that has caused degeneration of this delicate joint.
A chiropractor could address many of the possible problems as well as get an X-Ray if you don't already have one. They can address the nerve impingement, get into the rotator cuff with some muscle work and give you exercises for strength and they will know when an MRI is indicated. An MD can do the invasive procedures when more conservative measures are not successful.
Best of luck to you

If I were you, I would get a referral from your family doc to see a Orthopedic Doctor. They can do an MRI and X rays to see what is really going on.

I had shoulder surgery last march after a fall I had on Christmas Day of 2009. I seen 3 different orthopedic docs one of them said I needed surgery, but he didn't do surgery (waste of my money seeing him), he sent me to another ortho doc, who said I just had muscle issues in my shoulder, gave me muscle relaxers and sent me to therapy (another waste of money). After another month of it hurting, I told my family doc I wanted to be referred to a different ortho doc, because nothing was helping and therapy was only making it worse. Finally, I went to the best ortho doc. She did surgery, and I've had minimal problems since. I did have to get one cortizone shot, because my job was aggrivating it, but that is it since March of 2010. Besides a torn Rotator cuff, I had a tear in my labrel, a pinched nerve and tendinitus.

I also seen a chiropractor when I was seeing Ortho doc #2, he referred me to one and it did nothing but make it worse along with the therapy.

I will also add, that my tears weren't seen on the MRI. Only the tenditnus. My ortho doc said a lot of times tears cannot be seen on MRI's.

For a rotator cuff injury, you will need to be seen by an orthopedic doctor (skip the chiropractor or a physical therapist).

You may have a tear or you may have strained one of the SITS (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, subscapularis) muscles, or you may have a ligament sprain (doubtful though).

Only one way to find out - go to an orthopedist.

Hi, C.:

Check with Dr. James Stein at Lifeline and Lordex
Chiropractic Spine Center
Phone number: ###-###-####

He will give you a free phone consultation.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
D.