Torn shoulder muscle...phys. therapy or surgery???

[deepskyal]

Just found out through an MRI that the pain I've had for 7 or 8 months in my shoulder is a torn muscle. It's a low level, annoying pain that obviously I can live with most times...but doing a lot of heavy laboring as part of my job, sometimes I aggravate it and it will take a week or two to become bearable again. I live off of a lot of Alleve...

The Doc told me I have 2 options. I can try physical therapy which I failed to ask what exactly that will do for something that is torn, or I can have surgery to repair the damage. He also added that even after therapy, there's a fairly good chance that I'll still need surgery.

I did ask him if it would get worse and he led me to believe that after the amount of time that's past, it probably won't get worse...probably....

So what I'd like to know is if anyone else has been in a similar situation and done therapy and if it made any difference at all in the long term. And considering I use it a good bit of the time...would it just be a waste of time. He's suggesting 2 or 3 times a week for the next 3 or 4 weeks for the therapy part...

I really cannot afford time off work like this and can afford even less the idea of maybe missing months of work from surgery. I don't have any kind of short-term disability insurance so I'm kinda in a corner here. I don't think workman's comp is an option as I'm not 100% sure this is work related and I never reported an injury.

So far I consider myself fortunate it's my left shoulder and I'm right handed which gives me some break on usage, but not always...and when I do have to use the muscle, it's rough.

Looking forward to your thoughts and experience...

Al

 

[spartacus53]

I hope it's just a torn Rotator Cuff... I either tore mine, pulled, or strained it last year. The best relief is hot showers, concentrating the water on the affected area.. That worked for me

Then again, I'm no doctor.. So I would suggest googling torn shoulder muscles and do some

 

[Frankn]

I banged into an 8x8 rooting thru an old barn. My left shoulder was very sore if I lifted my left arm up to 90 degrees ,straight out, but didn't hurt to raise it higher. That was a week ago. I now have full use with no pain if I lift it slowly. The worst part is sleeping position at night. It doesn't hurt, it just feels "uncomfortable". It is getting progressive better. Hoping for the best! Frank

 

[spartacus53]

Frankn, that sounds like mine, bet it's the cuff. It is painful as all h3ll, a very sharp pain too...

 

[Frankn]

Only the first day. It has tapered off fast. I have used a heating pad for several days. Mother nature has been kind to me.
Frank

 

[mamabear]

I never liked the thought of surgery, but after being talked into getting new knees, my life has been so much better. if the injury is limiting you, especially if your work suffers, just bite the bullet & do it. make sure you chk docs credentials, maybe even call other patients. get second opinion. but don't wait. it's just not worth it.

 

[davest]

go to work, lift something over your head with the arm that's affected, drop said object, grip shoulder, roll around on floor screaming in pain, collect pittance on workers comp, lose home, become one of those that move to florida during colder months and collect beer cans while sleeping under the stars.

or

ask your doctor if there is a way to wrap it and continue to work, talk to your company human resource person (that's usually the one with the whip) about light duty before they toss you to the curb.

good luck,

 

[deepskyal]

go to work, lift something over your head with the arm that's affected, drop said object, grip shoulder, roll around on floor screaming in pain, collect pittance on workers comp, lose home, become one of those that move to florida during colder months and collect beer cans while sleeping under the stars.

or

ask your doctor if there is a way to wrap it and continue to work, talk to your company human resource person (that's usually the one with the whip) about light duty before they toss you to the curb.

good luck,

lol...like your thinking. Small company, no hr..

It's not the rotator, muscle conecting cartiledge to shoulder bone tore from bone. Wish it was that easy. Been 7-8 months now and no change in pain level. Somewhat tolerable and hot showers do make it feel better for a while. Been trying to talk my GP into giving me a script for a hot tub...lol.

Al

 

[flintmel]

Feel for ya, just had shoulder surgery, going thru physical therapy now. I had a hole worn right htru the rotator cuff tendon. Tried therapy first but the dull sometimes burning didn't go away! Hopefully you'll heal and not have to be cut!

 

[snakeyes]

I had the same type of injury and I went through about 6 mo of hell, before I finally had surgery.They treated me at first with cortasone shots in joint, that woulsd relieve the pain and swelling for a couple of weeks at best. Finally Dr told me I would need surgery or live with it, well being a construction worker no way could I just go on, so I had the surgery. Took about 6 mo to recover,I was able to do just about all that I could before except throw a ball. The toughest part was the 3 mo of PT,if you can find somebody that does accupressure for a therapist that is a big help. Good luck on what ever you deside. Also that was 30 years ago.

 

[Ray S S]

With it being partly torn loose from the bone, I think regular use of the arm will prevent it from growing back. From my own
experience, I would say get the surgery done so it is back where it belongs and it will heal much better with lesser chance of
more damage just by using it. I was a construction worker too and sooner or later, if it is not repaired, you will be doing
something and will suddenly need a lot of exertion on that arm and before you realize it you will have done more damage to
it. It would bug you for your lifetime. I also understand your thoughts of the money part. It was rough for me for a while,
but fortunately, I had a very understanding boss.
Wishing you lots of luck in whatever you decide. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Ray

 

[Monty]

Get the surgery. My son is a physiucal trainer and due to his occupation working with weights he has had both shoulders repaired. He fooled around with PT for months before he got ssurgery and had it fixed. Monty

 

[RGINN]

If you think it is somethin that will heal up, get statements from your doctor and talk to HR and see if the company can make you a 'reasonable accommodation'. Better route to go, if you're a good hand, talk to your immediate supervisor first and tell him what's up, that you wanna work and will work, but you just want some lighter duty for a little while, to see if you heal up. And I hope for the best for you.

 

[deepskyal]

Thanks all for the replies. Guess I'll mull over the surgery and find a good time to talk it over with the big boss. Not much light duty around but being slow this time of year, there may be other options.

Thanks again,
Al