Chronic shoulder pain?

[kourtni22]

I have had a chronic pain in my upper lef shoulder/traps for the past 5 years.I had been to physical therapy for about 2 months and that seemed to bring the pain down but it is back again. Some people have told me to go to a Neruologist or get a MRI. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions...Some things that didnt work were over the counter drugs, electro therapy, and pro. massages. Ice helped but not long term obviously.

[kourtni22]

hey sorry i havent been on in a long time, been busy, But just wanted to keep you updated that i did not receive an MRI but i did get x rays which to my dismay showed nothing. So the doctor sent me on my happy way and his words were basically "exercise, nothing is wrong with you". i do my exercises almost everyday, and i'm still in pretty bad pain everyday. i hope your medical problems are giving you less grief.  

[kourtni22]

so I went to the doc, and her diagnosis again was go back to PT. She would not give me any medicine or any steroid boosts, but she did reccomend the MRI. Basically I am back to square one, but hopefully the pt's can attack this from a different angle.

[Tuckamore]

Steroid burst is a term given for a therapeutic short term, high dose of a steroid. Usually these are began with a high dose for several days that gradually decreases over 5 to 7 and in some instances a 10 day period. These are prescribed only when the physician believes you have a severe inflamatory process that is not responding well to NSAID's. They can be extremely effective.

I am glad to hear that you are having an MRI done. Please share with us the results of your imaging. I'll be interested to hear what it reveals.

[kourtni22]

hey tuck, thanks for the welcome. For the past 5 years it has gotten progressivley worse. From a mere annoyance to a constant pain. I did not mention that I had broken my collar bone and I think it may be related to the injury. I am hoping to get an MRI done this week before Christmas.

Are the steroid bursts a daily thing, or a one time thing?
Thanks so much!

[Tuckamore]

Hello Kourtni22,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry to hear about your long standing shoulder/ trapezius muscle pain.

You did not mention your current diagnosis. Five years seems to be a long time for a muscle strain. I agree that an MRI may be beneficial. Possibly even a ultrasound or CT scan may reveal the source of your pain. I do think it is time for additional medical investigation.

Please let us know what you discover. In the meantime you may want to request a steroid burst to ease the inflammation and pain. I will look forward to your updates.

Peace,
Tuck