Shoulder pain and arm numbness

Posted By Kathy on October 12, 1998 at 10:54:40:







My name is Kathy and I am a 41-year-old woman with pain concentrated in my right shoulder and radiating to my upper arm and armpit area. I also have numbness and tingling traveling down my right arm to my little finger.  This pain and numbness intensifies on movement of the shoulder such as lifting my arm across my body.  It also is very uncomfortable to sleep at night.  I can not lie on my right side as it causes increased pain and numbness to the arm.  When lying on my left side, it is difficult to get my right arm comfortable as it will be numb and cause pain.  The most comfortable position is lying on my back.  However, this will still cause numbness and tingling depending on where I position my arm.  I consulted an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an x-ray of the shoulder.  The x-ray was normal.  After an examination, he diagnosed an inflammation in the joint area and prescribed Motrin 400-mg BID and physical therapy. After evaluation by the physical therapist, he felt that there might be a nerve being pinched somewhere.  After 4 physical therapy treatments with ultrasound and cortisone treatments, there is no improvement.  In fact the condition is getting more uncomfortable with more intense pain in the shoulder area.  Should I continue seeing an orthopedic surgeon for this problem or should I consult a neurologist?  What further tests would you recommend?  What neurologist could you recommend that I see at the CCF if I were to seek care there?  Thank you for your reply.

[Jose206]

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