shoulder??

Question

i have been doing physical therapy for 4 weeks for my shoulder. and now it hurts worse than it did before i started physical therapy. any ideas of what it might be??
thanks :)

the original reason i was doing physical therapy was because i somehow damaged my some nerves and muscles in the back of my shoulder

when i went to the orthopedic last month... he did x-rays and he said that if it didn't improve then he would do an MRI asap.
i use ice and take advil and tylenol but... nothing seems to be helping it. i am not finished with physical therpay until the end of april and i don't go back to the orthopedic til may 10.

i've been to the chiropractor and he didn't help. i think i am going to see if i can get back into orthopedic before may 10

Answer 1

YOU NEED TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR.......
If after 4 weeks, you still have pain and it is increasing - obviously the treatments are not effective. You don't mention the initial shoulder problem/injury. The best advice is to seek a medical opinion (An MD - preferably an orthopedic specialist.). Are you doing something outside therapy that may be impacting your shoulder?

Good luck!

Answer 2

For non-surgical problems, your shoulder should never be worse than before it started...sometimes the therapy may be painful, but you really shouldn't feel worse the subsequent day (maybe just a little muscle soreness a few hours the next day).

It could be a sign that more is going on than origionally thought. I've seen many cases of people who were given the diagnosis of "tendonitis" or "impingment syndrome" who became worse with therapy...we sent them back to the doctor who finally ordered some x-rays and found signficant bone spurring...upon further MRI, it turns out that these spurs were "sawing" into the rotator cuff anytime the shoulder was moved. We stopped physical therapy and the patient had a minor procedure to remove the spurs before it turned into a full-thickeness rotator cuff tear.

Forget the "it gets worse before it gets better" philosophy...mild discomfort or soreness is one thing, but it shouldn't leave you with the impression that it is getting worse. Increase in pain is usually a sign that something is wrong. You may need more testing.

Answer 3

Physical therapy has been aptly referred to as physical torture, and for good reason. It's usually not pleasant for most people. It's going to get worse before it gets better. But gradually, you'll notice less and less pain so try to tough it out if you can. Without knowing what the cause of your original pain is, it's hard to say exactly why it's worse during therapy other than you're just working the shoulder. If you have bursistis, arthritis, tendonitis, or have had surgery to repair a rotator cuff injury, the therapy is working an inflammed area so expect some pain. Make sure you ask the therapist what you can do at home to alleviate the discomfort. Usually ice, heat, massage and analgesics do the trick. Good luck.

Answer 4

If you're in physical therapy, you must have gotten some kind of diagnosis. What does your physical therapist say? Have you told him/her that your pain seems to be worsening instead of improving? It may be time to return to your doctor for a better diagnosis and treatment plan. Shoulder pain can be caused by any number of things, so it's hard to say what might be going on.

Answer 5

I have had alot of pain over the last several years with shoulders, neck, back and knees, due to manual labor. I recently visited a chiropractor and it is helping tremendously. I was a huge skeptic with them but several friends swore by it. If your pain is from nerve issues the chiro will make some adjustments to correct it, it certainly worked for me. Its cheap, and it is something that might help. It wasnt painful at all.

Answer 6

I would go see the doctor again, your pain should be getting better by now. The injury is probably worse than was originally thought and you could be causing more damage

Answer 7

Had the same problem. Could be that something is still damaged.

Or, you have just over worked It.
Belive it or not, that happens pretty often in rehab.

See your docter every time this happens.
If you have a docter that isn't very thural, make shure you pursue it.

Answer 8

I have two. Shoulders are softer and stronger than kleenex

Answer 9

you probably messed something up in your rotator cuffs or joints ask him about that maybee you pulled a legeament or something

Answer 10

see the docter