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Shoulder Injury question

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  emtnate 
#1 ·
I'm after a laymans description of an X-ray diagnosis - if there are any shoulder injury gurus around anyway. I have a doc who's taking care of this but he takes forever to get in to see.

Basically whenever I come off the bike, or crash while snowboarding, my tendency is to put my arm out (reaching for the ground) to try and help with the impact. I have been told this isn't wise but I'm damned if I can remember not to do this in the spilt second before I hit. Anyway, I've fallen this way about half a dozen times on one side, and each time it hurts like hell all throughout my shoulder, and takes weeks to settle down. Since the most recent crash (Nov 08) it hasn't settled at all. My physio used words like pinching and impingment and rotator cuff damage and gave me some exercises to try and pull my shoulder back, but my doctor disagreed and told me to get an X-ray.

X-ray results say:
"Cortical step deformity of the tip of the glenoid margin is likely the consequence of an osteochondral defect or a previous fracture. Further CT or MRI evaluation would be of benefit."

So before I go spending bucks on a CT or MRI, I'm wondering if anyone can explain what that means? No probs if not, I can just go see my doc again. Just thought I'd see if anyone knew what it meant.
 
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#2 ·
i have had a variety of shoulder injuries (broken collar bone, separation, dislocation, labrum and rotator cuff tear) and 2 major rebuilds and i haven't heard of what you are talking about and i became a bit interested. i came across this web site that maybe helpful.

http://uwmsk.org/residentprojects/ocd.html

I will say it has been my experience that the shoulder is such a complex and fussy joint that the doctors were all guessing on what was wrong until i had an mri done. the mri on the shoulder seems to remove all the guess work on what is wrong and if you are considering surgery i would want them to be a 100% before they go in.
 
#3 ·
if theres an impingment then the rehab exercises will help but it may take up to 6 weeks from the time you start the exercises. if with the 6 weeks of rehab it isnt better then you should have an mri or be scoped.

that xray report is referring to damage or defect in the socket (glenoid fossa) in which your upper arm sits. falling onto an outstretched arm can cause damage to the glenoid as well as a tear in a rotator cuff muscle. you could have one injury or both. rotator cuff tears can take forever to heal...
 
#4 ·
rugger said:
...if you are considering surgery i would want them to be a 100% before they go in.
Not sure about surgery at this stage. Basically what I'd like is for the irritation to settle down. It currently only affects me for certain movements like pulling a shirt off over my head, reaching behind me or across my body, scratching my back, and to some degree throwing - but this all tends to get better with time. Most of all I'd like to be able to fall off and not be in complete agony. Even minor falls that result in a jarring motion transferred into the shoulder are like being stabbed with an acid knife and having it twisted areound in there. Whereas I watch my fellow riders go down hard and not suffer at all. Admittedly, this might be due to the aforementioned falling technique (or lack thereof), but it seems obvious there's some damage in there of one kind or another.

In any case, thanks for your input and for looking into that condition. I'd say the deformity they found is the result of one of the previous falls more than a growth defect - but I guess I can't know that for sure.
scoutcat said:
if theres an impingment then the rehab exercises will help but it may take up to 6 weeks from the time you start the exercises. if with the 6 weeks of rehab it isnt better then you should have an mri or be scoped.
Yep - I'm on the exercises anyway as I must admit they've helped reduce the pain in the past (as in, made it less painful to do the tasks mentioned above).

Seems both of you suggest an MRI in any case. Might take your advice and do this if it doesn't get better with exercise anytime soon.

Thanks again.
 
#5 ·
The easy answer - don't fall on outstretched arms. ;)

I've been dealing with shoulder pain for a year, see some threads on rotator cuff tears. Sleeping, pulling a shirt over my head, swimming, and pulling the front tire of the bike over obstacles are all painful, but it is getting less with time. I have an aunt who was an athletic trainer and she gave me a list of exercises and stretches to help strengthen the joint.

I never got an MRI, but I told myself when I graduate in May, I'll go back. My doc has mentioned cortisone shots or a scope, neither of which I can recover from and still finish my clinical requirements for paramedic school.
 
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