Shoulder pain

[JK1987]

Hi!
For the last few days my shoulder has felt slightly out of place. It pops and cracks when I move and rotate it, but I can't seem to get it to feel comfortable. When I feel like it had gotten into place, it feels like it slips out a few seconds later.


There's pain along the front of my shoulder, mostly right above my arm pit, but extends to front tip of shoulder. It hurts to move it, but I can move it.

I have been diagnosed with C5/C6 pinched nerve, shoulder impingement, and labrum inflammation. I don't know if this is related or separate.

[mkh9]

Be sure to eat when you take the NSAID's. The burning feeling does sound like nerve involvement. I know cortisone shots can work great for a while but you can't get too many. If it is nerve involvement you could think about taking Neurontin for a while if it continues to be very painful. It isn't to hard to taper off of. I was on it for a while but I wouldn't take it unless you have  a lot of pain and need relief. If so then I used benedryl at night when I was tapering off of it. Because you can get insomnia when going off of it. Just a thought depending on your circumstances. Hopefully, you won't need anything like that.
mkh9

[mkh9]

That is good that it is not a tear in the labrum, although the results say Mild tendonsis (which is basically like tendonitis.... Cannot rule out a tiny 2x2 intrasubstance tear. So their might be a small tear in the tendon. Joint effusion is just saying a swollen joint and Bursitis (increased fluid in the joint). And you have some inflammation. But in any case it all sounds related to what you are experiencing. I hope you heal fast. I have a injury to my rotator cuff and it does all kinds of things too. It takes time but will heal.
take care,
mkh9

[JK1987]

Thank you so much! The description of the labral tear symptoms matches a lot of what I'm feeling, but my MRI didn't mention the labrum?

My old PT's theory was that everything started with my pinched nerve years ago, and everything else has been secondary to that.

I've done PT, I'm icing my shoulder and wrist when I can, I was taking NSAIDs at pretty high dosages for six months. My right shoulder, wrist, and fingers just constantly burn and ache. My shoulder was feeling great after a cortisone

[JK1987]

Thank you! I had a MRI of my shoulder a few months ago, but it didn't show a labrum tear. The results were pretty mild:
- Mild tendinosis of the anterior margin of the supraspinatus tendon. Cannot exclude a tiny 2x2 mm intrasubstance tear.
- Mild subacromial-subdeltoid bursitis
- Trace glenohumeral joint effusion

[mkh9]

Shoulder impingement would imply you can't move it much and causes a lot of pain as does a pinched nerve.  So, it sounds like it is related. See below.

From the Methodist Hospital on line

    "What does a labral tear feel like?"

    The main symptom caused by a labral tear is a sharp pop or catching sensation in the shoulder during certain shoulder movements. This may be followed by a vague aching for several hours. At other times, the tear may not cause any pain. Shoulder instability from a damaged labrum may cause the shoulder to feel loose, as though it slips with certain movements.

Hope this helps.