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Shoulder pain from calcific tendonitis
Has anyone developed a calcific tendonitis in the shoulder? If so, what have you been able to find that helps with the pain? Has anyone had surgery or ultrasound for it and what were the results? I have been having so much pain with this and have not been able to find any treatment for it. I am scared to have the surgery as I hear it may not change things and I may just have to live with this pain as it is now chronic. Any advice??
I just had the arthroscopic surgery for what you have 2 weeks today after 6yrs of suffering. Best thing to have done as the type of pain I have now is HEALING pain and not that excruciating pain I lived with for 6yrs!!!
I was diagnosed with CT Oct, 2013. 50 yr old female, most pain I’ve ever experienced –level 8/9. Had been doing some serious yard work/raking/painting for a few weeks – woke up one morning and could barely raise my arm and had a good deal of pain. Tried a massage/chiropractor – he did electro-stim for 2 days. By day 3, I couldn’t lift it and the pain was excrutiating. Saw my MD, she suggested seeing a physical therapist who tried ultrasound and electro-stim and gave me a few movement exercises to do. Didn’t really help due to the severe inflammation. Was doing ibuprofin and ice several times a day. Met with an orthopedic surgeon for a steroid injection which helped slightly. xrays showed the largest calcium deposit he’s ever seen – 1 cm x 3-4 cm long. Had an mri to make sure there wasn’t any tendon damage, there wasn’t. He said I will most likely need surgery with that much calcium. He bumped up my ibuprofin to 4 tablets three times a day.
Follow up 1 month later (6 wks since it started) – have some improvement in pain (level 2-5) and movement. Still have some pain/discomfort daily – no improvement last few weeks. Still not able to do things I love like walking my dogs, gardening. Have decided to do the surgery in January. The other 2 options would not work for me – needling/aspiration/lavage – he thought it would make it worse by spreading the calcium around due to the amount that I have. He said extracorpeal shock wave therapy is not recommended by any orthpedic surgeons. Have been icing and doing exercises twice daily to keep it moving. Discontinued ibuprofin after 1st 2 weeks due to fear of stomach ulcers. Hot tub and ice help temporarily. Able to sleep ok flat on back only. When I inquired as to how I could avoid this in the future – I was told to avoid repetitious overhead activity, which puts a lot of stress on the shoulder. Tendons naturally wear down with age. Over doing any shoulder activity, not excersising the other muscle groups in porportion, can bring on CT.
I have done a lot of research since this occurred – most websites say the cause for CT is unknown, however, some physicians speculate on possible causes. Some say activites such as: strenous raking, gardening, painting, tennis, can cause the cellular changes which turn calcific. This condition is mostly found in middle aged women and is fairly common in up to 10% of the population. The calcium can possibly return even after surgery. I am trying to accept that in the future I will now have to do my yard work/painting in smaller increments of time with much less physical excersion.
I will post again after my surgery and give an update. I have similar pain/movement issues in my left should as well, just not as severe, may eventually need it on that shoulder as well. Arthroscopic debridement will take 3-6 months of recovery with intensive physical therapy. There are possible complications – infection, frozen shoulder, tendon damage. It is about 90% effective. Out-patient procedure, sling for 2-3 days. I am not looking forward to going backward to severe pain again – but it seems to be the only way I can get rid of this condition and move forward to recovery.
Thank you all for your posts – as they were comforting/encouraging when I was first going thru this ordeal. This condition changes your quaility of life, it can be very depressing. I am trying to stay positive but also dealing with the fact that I am getting older and cannot do the things I used to in the same manner. I hope to be fully recovered 6 months following surgery. I wish you all well.
Follow up 1 month later (6 wks since it started) – have some improvement in pain (level 2-5) and movement. Still have some pain/discomfort daily – no improvement last few weeks. Still not able to do things I love like walking my dogs, gardening. Have decided to do the surgery in January. The other 2 options would not work for me – needling/aspiration/lavage – he thought it would make it worse by spreading the calcium around due to the amount that I have. He said extracorpeal shock wave therapy is not recommended by any orthpedic surgeons. Have been icing and doing exercises twice daily to keep it moving. Discontinued ibuprofin after 1st 2 weeks due to fear of stomach ulcers. Hot tub and ice help temporarily. Able to sleep ok flat on back only. When I inquired as to how I could avoid this in the future – I was told to avoid repetitious overhead activity, which puts a lot of stress on the shoulder. Tendons naturally wear down with age. Over doing any shoulder activity, not excersising the other muscle groups in porportion, can bring on CT.
I have done a lot of research since this occurred – most websites say the cause for CT is unknown, however, some physicians speculate on possible causes. Some say activites such as: strenous raking, gardening, painting, tennis, can cause the cellular changes which turn calcific. This condition is mostly found in middle aged women and is fairly common in up to 10% of the population. The calcium can possibly return even after surgery. I am trying to accept that in the future I will now have to do my yard work/painting in smaller increments of time with much less physical excersion.
I will post again after my surgery and give an update. I have similar pain/movement issues in my left should as well, just not as severe, may eventually need it on that shoulder as well. Arthroscopic debridement will take 3-6 months of recovery with intensive physical therapy. There are possible complications – infection, frozen shoulder, tendon damage. It is about 90% effective. Out-patient procedure, sling for 2-3 days. I am not looking forward to going backward to severe pain again – but it seems to be the only way I can get rid of this condition and move forward to recovery.
Thank you all for your posts – as they were comforting/encouraging when I was first going thru this ordeal. This condition changes your quaility of life, it can be very depressing. I am trying to stay positive but also dealing with the fact that I am getting older and cannot do the things I used to in the same manner. I hope to be fully recovered 6 months following surgery. I wish you all well.
I have calcific tendonitis and the last xray said it was a large 2 cm clump in my left shoulder-rotator cuff area (supraspinitis). I recently had shockwave treatments to get rid of it. I think it was improperly done as they did 3 treatments in 7 days....... I wound up losing the use of my arm as a result of the treatment until they said I could start to use anti-inflammatories again..... within 3 days I could move my arm again..... still not as good as before shockwave but almost back to 70%. I am in a lot of pain even now with the use of approximately 880 mg of naproxen daily. I am trying to stay away from other pain meds as I have a child and they make me feel to high. Can anyone offer any advice..... my recent trip to the surgeon yesterday to check my options.... he treated me like a child and sent me home to do stretching and take pills..... what a rude man..... Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Pat
Please especially see my Jul 19, 2013 post as well as the previous ones. If you can find an ultrasound radiologist who does the lavage procedure (flushing out the calcium), I'd strongly recommend checking into that option. I've been pain-free all of 2013.
I have had calcium tendernitus for 9 years now, it continues to get worse each each year. Sometimes the pain is so bad I can't move my arm. I am 29, so have had this pain since I was 20. I go to Phisio, though it has not helped, I have had cortisone injections, 9 to be exact!! Doctors and surgeons recommend I do another 4 months of Phisio before I try surgery, as I am too young apparently, and surgery may not work or could even make it worse. I'm tired, and upset the pain prevents me from doing so much. It's hard to explain to people, people don't understand this condition and how severe the pain really is. I still work .... And just live day by day putting up with the pain.
I have had calcium tendernitus for 9 years now, it continues to get worse each each year. Sometimes the pain is so bad I can't move my arm. I am 29, so have had this pain since I was 20. I go to Phisio, though it has not helped, I have had cortisone injections, 9 to be exact!! Doctors and surgeons recommend I do another 4 months of Phisio before I try surgery, as I am too young apparently, and surgery may not work or could even make it worse. I'm tired, and upset the pain prevents me from doing so much. It's hard to explain to people, people don't understand this condition and how severe the pain really is. I still work .... And just live day by day putting up with the pain.
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