shoulder pain and bruising

[aprileth]

For 2 months I have had pain and loss of motionin my left shoulder. I was mowing with a riding mower I heard and felt a load pop. Ihave been told its not a torn rotator cuff, its just a strain. I still have constant pain in my shoulder and I found a bruise on my shoulder it looks like it is going away but it looks like it covered all of my shoulder. What does this sound like? And what if anything can be done?

[sanford55]

Oh I hear you about that,I'm still battling with them to cover injury,thankfully I just got insurance on my own and they will cover surgery if need be due to waiting six months with workers comp insurance to approve claim.Good luck to you on both fronts

[aprileth]

Thanks to all of you for your help. I am trying to get an ortho dr. now but you know work comp is not very helpful to an injured employee.

[sanford55]

your best bet is to go with a good ortho Dr, I had very similar syptoms as you did,I had MRI which showed a small partial tear in tendon in rotator cuff,the company doctor had me doing 6 months therapy,pills,etc.I was finally allowed to see my own ortho dr. and he suggested arthriscopic surgery to determine the exact problem and sure enough I had the surgery three weeks ago that he found 90% tear of tendon in rotator cuff that the mri did not show. He repaired it and hopefully all will be better soon.I just wanted to let you know that the mri ,although helpful, is not as dependable as agood ortho surgeons eye.My physical therapist had the same thing happen to her as well,torn cuff not showing up on mri.

[aprileth]

Thanks for the info. work comp has had me going to see a family praticiner all they told me is that the written mri report says rotator cuff is not torn. They just keep prescribing pain meds, muscle meds, & steroides. I will tell work comp to send me to an ortho Dr.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a clinical evaluation it would be difficult to determine the cause of your discomfort. Possible causes of shoulder pain include capsulitis, bursitis, tendonitis, injuries/ tears, joint subluxation/ dislocation, arthritis, periostitis, muscle/ ligament/ tendon tears/ injuries, fractures, growths/ masses, ischemia etc. I would suggest getting this evaluated by an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management. Meanwhile you could try using warm compresses or tylenol/ OTC NSAIDS for pain relief.
Hope this helps.

Take care!

[Kurizu]

Check your flexibility and rotation and try to examine the location of the pain.  What specific movements aggravates the pain?

I would suggest that you undergo an MRI to rule out rotator cuff tear, labral tear, instability and other possible condition.

An evaluation by an orthopedist may be able to put your fears to rest.  Take care!