Question by Momx2: Horrible pain in shoulder and hurts to move arm, could it be the rotator cuff?
We moved back in mid March (15th), and I’m guessing I hurt my shoulder somehow while moving. I remember on my birthday, March 19th, my shoulder hurting for the first time. It has not gotten better since then. The pain starts around the front of my collar bone and goes up over my shoulder and into my back, also up the side of my neck some. Over the last 3 weeks the pain has gotten worse. Its painful to even walk around a store from the gravity pulling down. I have a 25month old, and she’s only 25lbs and even to lift her hurts. The last week, its become almost impossible to use that hand to help put my hair up, shirt or jacket on. I can’t cross my arm to the other side and touch the shoulder, and when I lift the arm up to the side, I can’t fully lift or straighten it w/o the shoulder starting to pull and burn. The pain is weird to describe, almost a burning feeling at times (sometimes so bad I can’t focus on anything else), but an odd pain in all. I’ve tried taking some of my pain pills I had left over from a Kidney stone last year but they don’t work (I can only take half anyway since the pills make me sick).
I don’t have insurance so I don’t want to run off to the ER and get a $ 1k+ bill and we don’t have any low costs clinic’s that deal with bone/joint injuries. I’ve also tried Ibuprofen, and cold/heat, nothing helps. Even sleeping has become difficult to do with having to stay on one side to avoid making the shoulder hurt more. (I’m a woman if that has any baring on anything)
Best answer:
Answer by Tzudro
In my nonprofessional opinion, it could be a few things. The collarbone is the most frequently broken bone in the body and the easiest to break. You may have fractured your collarbone and not even know it. Your collarbone (or clavicle) is responsible for connecting your arm to your trunk and allowing your arm to hang with out damaging your neck or torso. You could also have torn your rotor cuff, which is a series of muscles and tendons responsible for stabilizing your shoulder. These muscles are frequently damaged by athletes, but also affect people who uses repetitive over the shoulder or pulling motions. The the case of the clavicle, an X-Ray and stabilization (which may or may not include setting the bone) will help. In the case of a torn rotor cuff, you may require surgery if you don’t take care if it soon. The recovery rate is high, the the longer you wait, the worse it will get. Despite your financial situation, I believe you should have yourself examined by a trained medical professional. It may be difficult, but the damage could be irreparable if not treated in time.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
