Shoulder impingement

[D.A.L.E.]

In agony here. And typing one handed.

Anyone on here suffered with it? How long can I expect to be off the bike?

Also, this piece of string, how long is it?

[toontra]

I had bad frozen shoulder following a fall 2 years ago.  My GP wasn't interested, even though I told them I couldn't work due to the restriction & pain.  Eventually after the 3rd visit I refused to leave the surgery until I had a hospital referral.

An initial cortisone injection worked but the pain slowly returned after a few months to previous levels.  Eventually I was offered surgery but chose to first try a fairly new procedure of injecting large quantities of saline into the joint (arthrographic distension / hydrodilatation).  That has worked well.

Cycling was one of the few things I could do pain-free throughout.  Without treatment they say it takes 1-2 years so subside, but I couldn't wait.

[Ben T]

I had it really bad when, inexplicably, I fell off the bike and only banged my hip. No idea how the shoulder was affected. In my case I think it was gradual, but to within non annoyance, about a month.
Is it causing pain to lift the arm? If so it's similar to what I had, swelling of the bursa. Although another physio did diagnose bicep tendon inflammation, but that could have been a separate condition.

[JonB]

I was hit by a car back in November initially all the focus was on the knee but gradually shoulder got worse to the point where I couldn't lift my arm (similar to Ben T).  Paid for a physio appointment and then a private scan. Showed inflammation of the Bursa and some tendon inflammation. Had a steroid injection and like Toontra had a steroid injection which made it disappear ... but only for about 6 weeks.  It's back but not as bad as it was, unless it gets worse I'll leave it for now and it will hopefully go away eventually.

[hellymedic]

23cm
I don't know much but hope you get relief and good advice soon!

[Plug1n]

Sympathies, I had this about 3 or 4 years ago, my GP prescribed Naproxen (an NSAID) which cleared it up in 2 or 3 weeks.

It came back a couple of months ago and some Tesco Ibuprofen gel cleared it up in a couple of days.  I think the gel works because you can apply it to the shoulder which doesn't have a thick covering of muscle and so it works quite well. YMMV.

As other have said - GP.

You can check it is shoulder impingement if lifting your arm causes pain as you raise you arm through an arc and then it goes away.

http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/shoulderandelbow/information/documents/A4ShoulderImpingeAppendix5.pdf gives a good description of the problem.

I kept on riding - the only issue I had was a sudden grab for the brakes when I got a corner wrong - OUCH!

[Malandro]

I'm currently suffering from this as well.  Been waiting 6 months for an NHS consultant appointment.  Apparently if you get it in one shoulder there is a good chance you'll get it in the other.  And I had it in the other shoulder in 2012.

At that time I had private medical insurance through work so it was dealt with fairly rapidly.  I had a steroid injection initially which worked for a few months but eventually I had sub-acromial decompression surgery where they shaved the underside of the acromiun bone to relieve pressure on the muscle beneath.  No problems since and I am hoping the NHS will offer me the same solution for the other shoulder.  I was back on the bike with little pain after a couple of months.  They said it would hurt a lot more than it actually did.

[gibbo]

I had the same op on both shoulder (arthroscopy), a few years apart, due the collar bone impinging upon the tendon when lifting my arm up above shoulder height. This was bad enough as it stopped me from canoeing but the pain was manageable i.e. if one didn't exercise but unfortunately both times I ended up with a frozen shoulder. In both cases this lasted for around 9 -12 months but the second op and recovery didn't stop me from cycling. Post op I had a course of Naproxen which seemed to help a bit.

I had a follow up op where fluid is injected into the joint, but this was unsuccessful as they couldn't get the needle in deep enough - the anesthetic used didn't seem to work and the injection itself was too painful for me endure. I was told I should have taken Aspirin before the op - how was that going to dull the pain better than anesthetic?? Anyway, that's another story.

Hope you feel better soon.
Gibbo.

[mrcharly-YHT]

It would be very odd to be told to take Aspirin before an operation, as Aspirin increases the chance of bleeding.

Maybe it is different with a minor operation? IANA surgeon

I get impingement from floating bone chips in my ankle, it is damn painful, you all have my sympathy. Free up your shoulder joints if you can - stretch, stretch, stretch, unless there is something mechanical wrong you shouldn't be getting impingement.