Hi my name is Joe and I am new to this forum.
A little background on me that may help with my problem, I was diagnosed with flat feet when I was about 13 but nothing was ever really done about the problem. I am 21 now.
I have worked at Fed Ex Express as a handler/team leader for the last almost 3 years, which consists of constant bending down to pick up packages as well as overhead lifting of boxes weighing as little as an envelope all the way up to 150 pound crates.
I lifted weights briefly in highschool. About 2 years ago I got into serious weight lifting, joined a gym, was there just about every day consistently. Also in my free time I like to play video and computer games so I spend a good deal of time sitting.
To get to my problem, about a year and a half ago I injured a hi[ flexor muscle in the front top of my quad near my hip while I was squatting. I neglected the injury and I also hurt it a few times at work again kicking/sliding a heavy (60+ pounds) box. About 6 months later, I injured my shoulder in a shoulder pressing exercise at my gym in which I heard a pop and felt a burning warm sensation with slight pain in my left rear deltoid muscle., I neglected to let this injury heal correctly also. I continued weight lifting.
No real problems up until recently.
Fast forward to about a month ago. I had heard a pop similar to the previous shoulder accident, however this time it had happened in my right shoulder. Also in my left shoulder near my collar bone, I had several pops occur at different times, about 3 in total. After this I stopped going to the gym all together figuring the other injuries hadnt gotten better so this one would need rest if i wanted it to improve.
My situation did not improve, several times after this within the last 1-3 weeks, there have been numerous pops in both shoulders, each time giving me a numb feeling down the bottom of the arm in which it popped, and also a warm feeling down my back, and in all of these injuries, most to ALL ability to contract the injured muscle was lost immediately following the pop. Sometimes pops occurred numerous times PER DAY.
(here I should mention that on one of these days a tight muscle in my mid/lower back had popped also and like the others, was not able to contract)
At this time I started to worry and decided to get an Orthopedic Physician's opinion on it.
He advised I should go to physical therapy for about a month to see if it improved. He sent me away with a "Shoulder Impingement" diagnosis.
Following the days of the visit to the physician, I experienced more pops, this time one when I sneezed in the back right side of my neck with which followed no ability to contract it, same feelings as before, the lack of muscle contraction and slight burning pain and a feeling of something not being right. It felt different in the right side than the left. Later the next day, the left side of my neck popped and now both sides felt similar. Both with no ability to contract and the burning pain. Around somewhere during this, another pop in my right lat area (back) happened, and I noticed that when doing a bodybuilding pose (the lat spread) that my back had become more wide on the right side. This all happened about 2 days ago. Today I heard numerous pops in my back, ones that I had always heard when straightening my back all the way, but they never were a problem. Also today sounded like a pop from my lower back above my buttocks on the right side, following with similar symptom, that of no ability to contract the muscle. I should also mention that the tendon in the top of my left bicep muscle near the frontal deltoid has a tendency to tighten up and feels as if it is being pulled or stretched too far and im afraid that this muscle will be the next to face injury.
By now it feels almost as if I am in the body of a different person, because this is something completely new to me and for the first time in a long time, I am a bit frightened because I have not been able to find an answer to what this is anywhere on my own.
I appreciate any response I get to this, and apologize for the length.
In my own mind I think my muscles have begun to detach to adjust for poor posture and frequent abuse, I have no other thoughts as to why numerous muscles in my shoulders/rear neck/collar bone area/back have lost the ability to contract and also the pickup of the burning pain and the instability.
I have no idea if I should be in the emergency room right now or just resting in bed with ice packs.
God speed to whoever has an answer for me that will hopefully end this nightmare.