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Forearm pain after Shoulder surgery
I slipped and fell in January tearing some subscapularus muscles in shoulder and subluxating the biceps tendon our of its groove. Had surgery done on April 3rd ( about 7 weeks ago) to repair. Had a lot of pain after surgery, but it was beginning to get better up until last week. Have been doing therapy all along although just Passive Range of Motion up until last Tuesday. For some reason I began to get severe pain in my forearm and down into wrist a week ago. Its gotten progressively worse since then to the point I can barely use my right arm. If my web research is correct, it seems to be located in the flexor digitorum profundus muscle.Now we started some stronger thearapy on Thursday, but it was starting to hurt at least 4 days before that. I had seen the Doctor who did surgery on Wednesday for 6 week checkup and asked him about it. He didn't have an answer and said it was probably related to the surgery and would get better. Well it hasn't gotten better, its much worse. Nothing seems to help it, not heating pad, iceing, percoset, nor vicodin. Before this last week, I had some pain in shoulder but I could use my arm and hand fairly good. Now I can barely lift a fork or spoon and forearm hurts just laying naturally at my side. I have to bend the elbow to reduce pain to bearable level. Any ideas of what's going on and what I can do about it?
I had awful shoulder pain from computer work until I moved my keyboard and mouse below the desktop, on a tray located between the desk and my lap.
This configuration allowed me to type with my arms resting on the armrests of my chair, which allowed the muscles of my chest, shoulders, and upper back to relax while I wrote. After a few months of working this way, it became the surprise cure to an "invisible" soft tissue pain problem that puzzled my doctors so.
The release from tension and pain occurred so slowly that it was almost undetectable. In my memory, seemed as if the pain simply went away. That was over 25 years ago using an Apple MacPlus computer, Macintosh keyboard, and mouse.
These days I write on a sleek and powerful Lenovo laptop. With cervical spine disease, I experience neck pain very soon after beginning to work if the computer sits on the desk or table. But when it is elevated so the center screen is level with my eyes, no neck pain. For working on my desk (as I am tonight), my fancy laptop platform is an old but sturdy stationery box that elevates the computer about 6".
Adjusting my workspace to fit my body became an essential step in gaining control over the pain of so-called "repetitive stress." Of course, the pain did not originate because of repetitive stress -- it was due to the uncomfortable setup of my work environment.
Even the chair has to be the right height to fit the keyboard tray, and the chairback a proper height so that I can rest my head. The armrests have to be at a correct level. It literally took me years to figure all this out, an activity that most people take for granted every day -- how to sit comfortably for an hour of writing.
Isn't that amazing?
This configuration allowed me to type with my arms resting on the armrests of my chair, which allowed the muscles of my chest, shoulders, and upper back to relax while I wrote. After a few months of working this way, it became the surprise cure to an "invisible" soft tissue pain problem that puzzled my doctors so.
The release from tension and pain occurred so slowly that it was almost undetectable. In my memory, seemed as if the pain simply went away. That was over 25 years ago using an Apple MacPlus computer, Macintosh keyboard, and mouse.
These days I write on a sleek and powerful Lenovo laptop. With cervical spine disease, I experience neck pain very soon after beginning to work if the computer sits on the desk or table. But when it is elevated so the center screen is level with my eyes, no neck pain. For working on my desk (as I am tonight), my fancy laptop platform is an old but sturdy stationery box that elevates the computer about 6".
Adjusting my workspace to fit my body became an essential step in gaining control over the pain of so-called "repetitive stress." Of course, the pain did not originate because of repetitive stress -- it was due to the uncomfortable setup of my work environment.
Even the chair has to be the right height to fit the keyboard tray, and the chairback a proper height so that I can rest my head. The armrests have to be at a correct level. It literally took me years to figure all this out, an activity that most people take for granted every day -- how to sit comfortably for an hour of writing.
Isn't that amazing?
I had rotator cuff surgery which included bicep tenodesis, over 95% tear in suprasinatus tendon repaired, acromion and clavicular bone reduction last September. I continue to have shoulder pain especially during sleep. Radiating pain in forearm to palmar wrist esp. with computer work and sitting for long drives. My Chiropractor and PT tell me pain is from pectoral area. I want to try acupuncture. I do not want another surgery (way too painful and too much time off) or pay for a study that may tell me nothing is wrong.
Hello Bandrsntch,
Welcome to the Pain Management Forum of MedHelp. I am sorry to hear about your increasing pain.
Is this muscle pain or nerve pain? Nerve pain makes more sense in my opinion. Your ulnar nerve runs through the area of your pain. It is not rare to develop some nerve trauma following a surgery.
I would suggest that you return to the surgeon and/or see your PCP and request some diagnostic testing. An electromyogram (EMG) measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals. These tests will determine if you may have any nerve impingement or damage.
If you beleive your pain is muscle related than a MRI may be more helpful in diagnosing your pain. You may require both but certainly your physician will best be able to make that determination. Good luck to you. I hope you will soon be feeling better. Please let us know how you are doing. Take Care, Tuck
Welcome to the Pain Management Forum of MedHelp. I am sorry to hear about your increasing pain.
Is this muscle pain or nerve pain? Nerve pain makes more sense in my opinion. Your ulnar nerve runs through the area of your pain. It is not rare to develop some nerve trauma following a surgery.
I would suggest that you return to the surgeon and/or see your PCP and request some diagnostic testing. An electromyogram (EMG) measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals. These tests will determine if you may have any nerve impingement or damage.
If you beleive your pain is muscle related than a MRI may be more helpful in diagnosing your pain. You may require both but certainly your physician will best be able to make that determination. Good luck to you. I hope you will soon be feeling better. Please let us know how you are doing. Take Care, Tuck
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