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What Causes Shoulder Pain While Breathing After A Chest Contusion?
Question: Hi,
I was hiking in the mountains and I tripped over a root and fell quite heavily on my front. This was Tuesday. On Wednesday or Thursday, I started feeling a pain in my left shoulder and pain when I took a deep breath. This pain comes and goes. Any ideas?
I was hiking in the mountains and I tripped over a root and fell quite heavily on my front. This was Tuesday. On Wednesday or Thursday, I started feeling a pain in my left shoulder and pain when I took a deep breath. This pain comes and goes. Any ideas?
Brief Answer:
Considerations
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for sending the question.
I am sorry to hear that you suffered this recent fall. I have some ideas regarding the current symptoms that you are experiencing.
I suspect that you may have suffered a contusion to your chest wall. This is essentially like a bruise under the muscle and bone of your chest. This can cause symptoms of discomfort with deep breathing.another possibility is that you may have slightly fractured a rib which can also cause similar symptoms but sometimes bring fractures are more constant in terms of pain and the pain tends to be a bit more severe.
regarding your shoulder pain it is possible that you suffered a injury to your rotator cuff. This can happen with falls forward on the chest or shoulder or sometimes sideways on the shoulder.
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles which stabilize the shoulder in the law for the multiple ranges of motion that the shoulder rotates through.
it is likely that your chest symptoms will gradually improve over the next 3 to 5 days. Your shoulder symptoms may also improve over this period of time. I would recommend that you try some gentle range of motion exercises to maintain mobility of your shoulder.
If your symptoms do not improve or if things seem to be getting worse in 3 to 5 days then I would recommend that you report to your local physician for a focused consultation and physical examination.at that point your doctor may consider requesting x-rays as an initial part of the evaluation. At this point since you are otherwise stable I do not think x-rays are indicated. If your symptoms persist however it might be a consideration.
thank you again for sending the question.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Considerations
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for sending the question.
I am sorry to hear that you suffered this recent fall. I have some ideas regarding the current symptoms that you are experiencing.
I suspect that you may have suffered a contusion to your chest wall. This is essentially like a bruise under the muscle and bone of your chest. This can cause symptoms of discomfort with deep breathing.another possibility is that you may have slightly fractured a rib which can also cause similar symptoms but sometimes bring fractures are more constant in terms of pain and the pain tends to be a bit more severe.
regarding your shoulder pain it is possible that you suffered a injury to your rotator cuff. This can happen with falls forward on the chest or shoulder or sometimes sideways on the shoulder.
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles which stabilize the shoulder in the law for the multiple ranges of motion that the shoulder rotates through.
it is likely that your chest symptoms will gradually improve over the next 3 to 5 days. Your shoulder symptoms may also improve over this period of time. I would recommend that you try some gentle range of motion exercises to maintain mobility of your shoulder.
If your symptoms do not improve or if things seem to be getting worse in 3 to 5 days then I would recommend that you report to your local physician for a focused consultation and physical examination.at that point your doctor may consider requesting x-rays as an initial part of the evaluation. At this point since you are otherwise stable I do not think x-rays are indicated. If your symptoms persist however it might be a consideration.
thank you again for sending the question.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Answered by
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