pain in sholder

[shelltp]

i have really bad pain in my left shoulder and it carries on to my elbow and i dont know why i cant lay on it because its to painful

[mummy3too]

You have already received great advice.... you should seek the services and tests that only a doctor can provide.

I can tell you a little about the symptoms of a cervical herniation - because I have two. I also have pain in my shoulder that radiates to the elbow and sometimes to the pointer finger (along with some numbness in the fingers).

The pain is relieved by keeping my head in certain positions (I cannot raise or lower it for any length of time), or raising the arm that hurts over my head (almost immediate pain relief!). You can also do a simple test on your own. If you press down on the top of your head (not too hard, lol) and feel the pain in your shoulder or arm - it could mean it is cervical and not shoulder related ( I say, could... again, this is not a scientific test!).

My doctor told me about this simple test. Of course it is NOT used to formally diagnose anyone with a herniation - but it could help the doctor to know if they are looking at the right area....

Anyway - just a couple of symptoms and solutions I use...

Please follow the advise of Tuck and Molly and make an appointment with your doctor. Pain of any kind that does not go away on it's own needs to be diagnosed by a doctor.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[Tuckamore]

Hello Shellp,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am sorry to hear that yo have shoulder pain. As Mollyrae said there are multiple reasons for it.

Certainly it could be originating in your spine. Nerves could be compressed ans Mollyrae suggested.

You could also have a rotator cuff problem, tendonitis, a strain or sprain, bursitis or any number of other conditions. Could you provide us with more information? Can you describe this pain? What makes it worse? When does it feel better? How long have you had this pain?

Shell if you could provide additional information you may have better suggestions for you. I feel very bad that you are having difficultly even resting on it.

I will look forward to hearing more about your painful symptoms. In the meantime rest it as much as possible. Hopefully you will be able to see your PCP for an evaluation soon.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[Mollyrae]

Hello:

There are many causes of Shoulder pain and one very common one is problems in the Cervical area of the spine. Inflammation will press on nerves in the Cervical Spine and cause pain that will run down the arm. Another common cause is an acute injury involving straining or pulling of the muscles in the shoulder. It doesn't take much sometimes to injure your shoulder that way.
Please make a Doctors appt. and have it checked out. An x-ray may be needed to detect the cause.

My best,
Mollyrae