Bone Marrow Edema

[christiel708]

I have been suffering from severe shoulder pain since July. The shoulder is tender to the touch and is painful upon movement of any kind. I have received a cortisone shot with no relief. I also underwent PT which caused the pain to increase dramatically. Narcotic pain meds basically just take the edge off the pain. My MRI showed "bone marrow edema", which, according to the ortho, correlates to the area of my shoulder which hurts to the touch. He has now referred me to a rheumatologist, but the wait for an appointment is and entire year. I don't want to be on pain pills for that long.....I was wondering if anyone could give me suggestions as to how to deal with this pain.

[Bige4irish]

I am in the same boat! My shoulder has hurt for years, but in the past 6 to 8 months it has gotten worse daily. It has gotten to the point to where one day last week I went to open a bottle of water and I dropped the bottle because it hurt my shoulder so bad! I would have NEVER believed that a shoulder could hurt to the point to where you can't even open a 20ounce bottle of water!!! This led to a nice arguement with my wife because she said, and I quote, "your shoulder has hurt you since your last year of football in college (20 plus years ago) when you hurt it. You should be used to the pain by now!" She was right in the fact that my shoulder has bothered me since then. What she was wrong about (I am saying she was wrong on here because she doesn't read these sites and I can get away with it here, haha) was that up until 6 to 8 months ago it only BOTHERED me. It now HURTS! Plus, it gets worse each day it seems!

I went to my family doc last Thursday & he ordered an MRI.  Here is what the results are... Osteoarthritis, tendinitis, extensive non-acute labrum tear, bone marrow edema, and condromalacia.  My family doc said that the reason my shoulder hurt SO bad now is because of the edema.  He said the edema was inside the bone and he used this to explain it to me. Take a 20ounce Coke and shake it vigorously for 20 seconds. Then see if you can squeeze the bottle any. You can't because of the pressure. He said the swelling was causing pressure in the bone, thus resulting in excruciating pain!  He said that the bone marrow edema could be caused by the osteoarthritis, tendinitis, labrum tear, or most likely all three. He said I would have to have surgery.

I go to an orthopedic doc Tuesday.  Can anyone out there in cyber world tell me how long the recovery will be for the surgery I am going to have to have?

[mandyj2499]

I am having the same exact issue.. Except my shoulder pain Started in june while doing a vegan cleanse called the ultimate reset. the but I thought it was very strange cuz it was deep in my shoulder it was deep in my shoulder..  Slowly but surely the pain started to get worse and went to my right shoulder and into my arms and both wrists now. I recently had an MRI on my left shoulder and it showed bone marrow edema stage 2.. When I look in a mirror my left shoulder is sunken in significantly then my right. My doctor referred me to a bone marrow specialist to have a bone marrow biopsy but then on monday called and says switching to a rheumatologist. He says he has no clue. I am a young 33 year old woman with 2-baby's and Im starting to get nervous because im having difficulty opening something simple as a peanut butter jar and trouble opening doors.the pain feels like my bones are breaking and today is going up my neck and cause the worst headache I have ever had in my life. So my question for you is did you ever find out what was causing your bone marrow edema?

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
Bone marrow edema is excess collection of fluid that usually occurs in response to infection, inflammation or injury. Thus it is seen in fractures, ligament injuries, bone bruises (injury to bone without a fracture), synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane that lines the joints), osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, ischemia (decreased blood flow) and tumors.
If you had a MRI of the shoulder joint, then probably ligament injuries and fractures are ruled out. Your PCP can run the basic tests like RA factor, ANA panel etc. Possibility of ischemia should be ruled out with MRA examination. Your ortho specialist too can check this out.
The other possibility is that the pain is due to a pinched nerve in the neck (this will required a different set of physiotherapy exercises). It can also be due to localized muscle inflammation.
Please discuss in detail with your doctor. Hope this helps. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.