Suggest Treatment For Severe Shoulder Pain

Posted on Tue, 16 Aug 2016

Question: Have pain in both shoulders when I wake up or move arms after period of having them in one position. Very highly symmetrical unless one shoulder is moved and the other is not for 15-20 min. Does not feel like rotor cuff tear -- had one a long time ago; that really hurt and especially with movement. Pain highly symmetrical when I wake up. Both upper front or both upper side of shoulders. Pain fully goes away after I force myself to rotate the shoulder 3 or 4 times. No pain thereafter while moving it frequently. Does not reoccur until period of inactivity. 71 year old male. Recently retired from a desk job; now doing a fair amount of light construction. Stent in heart. History of gout. On aspirin, a statin, and blood pressure med (130/86). Overweight but have lost 30 lbs in last six months by reducing calories, particularly in sugars and starches. Take a daily vitamin, eat lots of fruit and veggies now.

Answered by Dr. Mahaveer Patil (15 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
early tendinitis,or arthritis

Detailed Answer:
Hi xxxxxxx
Hope this message finds you in good health.
I have gone through your complaints and understand your concern.
I generally see many cases like this at my clinic.we generally suggest a good physiotherapy at first and if unrelieved,start on some anti-inflammatory tablets.
In your case,i have gone through your complaints in detail.
i feel there are 3 possibilities
1. early supraspinatus tendinitis/frozen shoulder- might be just a beginning of the disease as it is common at this age having cardiac problems.
2. shoulder joint arthritis- osteoporosis may have set in at this age,causing the lubricant synovial fluid to reduce in quantity. This a normal physiological ageing process.
3.related to gout- raised uric acid levels,on and off may cause uric acid crystals to deposit in soft tissues around shoulders.

i would suggest a good physiotherapy exercises,hot fomentation-this will be sufficient i guess. at the most if pain increases,take an analgesic and get a xray/mri of both shoulders,with a detailed blood profile.
You should eventually get back to normal in coming few days.Nothing to worry about, as long as i am there to help you.
I hope your question has been answered.
If you have any follow-up queries,feel free to consult me anytime.
Thanks,Take care,God bless. Wish you a healthy life : )

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj