I was trying on clothes at the mall the other day in front of those three-way mirrors. I noticed that one of my shoulder blades is sticking out. What could be causing this? Should I do anything about
...more
I am having a weird shoulder problem. I don't have any pain but every time I reach back to put my seatbelt on, my left shoulder clunks. What could be causing this? You may have some shoulder instabili
...more
I have a chronic shoulder "instability." It's not bad enough to justify the expense of surgery yet but it is affecting my daily activities. I've heard that there's a new platelet injection therapy for
...more
The MRI I had taken of my right shoulder showed that my rotator cuff tear (repaired 10 years ago) was no longer whole. Somewhere along the line, it tore again. I never felt a thing and the arm works j
...more
I knew I tore my rotator cuff a couple of years ago but it didn't bother me so I didn't have surgery. When I started developing some shoulder pain, the orthopedic surgeon did an MRI on me and found th
...more
My sister has a chronically dislocating shoulder. She tried rehab but got kicked out because she either didn't go to her appointments or if she did, she didn't do her exercises. Should she have surger
...more
My 18-year-old son had a seizure severe enough that his shoulder dislocated posteriorly. The shoulder has popped back in but there is a concern that it will pop out again. The surgeon doesn't want to
...more
I just found out that I have a rotator cuff tear and damage to the biceps pulley. I'm having surgery next week for both. Are these two problems part of the same thing, separate issues, related to each
...more
Is everything that goes wrong with muscles, tendons, and joints related to age? I've had two shoulder injuries that the surgeon says are both caused by "degeneration". One was a rotator cuff tear. The
...more
What are the chances I can heal from a full-thickness tear of my rotator cuff? Only the supraspinatus tendon was damaged. Right now they are recommending Physical Therapy with surgery as a back-up pl
...more
I am a cabinet maker with an unfortunate problem: shoulder pain. The surgeon wants to release part of my biceps tendon away from the shoulder. She says this won't affect my work and will probably redu
...more
I'm on my third shoulder surgery now. Now I have what they call a "Popeye deformity." Will I need surgery for this? A Popeye deformity is defined as any abnormal shortening or defect of the biceps mus
...more
I had a rotator cuff repair but I still have shoulder pain. It's right in the front of my arm and mostly hurts when I raise my arm up. Should I go back to the surgeon? See my Physical Therapist? Give
...more
My orthopedic surgeon thinks I have something called coracoid impingement. She wants me to see a physical therapist before considering surgery. What can a therapist do for this problem? The coracoid
...more
What is chondrolysis? My sister says she got this after having arthroscopic shoulder. Can anything be done about this? Chondrolysis is defined as a generalized (all over) loss of the articular (surfac
...more
Is it possible to have a rotator cuff strain that is not a rotator cuff tear? When it comes to injuries of the rotator cuff, there are actually three possibilities. There can be a strain, muscle tear
...more
Despite my daily workout routine I tore my rotator cuff. The surgeon says I probably had a worn out tendon to begin with and the exercises helped but couldn't prevent the injury. Is this true? Maybe I
...more
I'm 66-years-old and participating in the Senior Olympics for the first time. Right out of the shoot, I tore my rotator cuff (the subscapularis muscle). What would you predict for recovery time? The l
...more
Can anyone get one of those new reversed shoulder replacements? I had a regular shoulder implant that didn't work so I need to replace the replacement. The reverse shoulder arthroplasty is a new enoug
...more
Can you please give me some basic info on reverse shoulder replacements? Along with hip and knee joint replacements, shoulder replacement has become increasingly popular for people with pain and loss
...more
If I have a rotator cuff tear but it doesn't bother me, what are the chances it will just go away? The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and their tendinous attachments that surround the shoulde
...more
I have a frozen shoulder that just isn't getting better. I've heard they can put you to sleep and manipulate the joint. Is there some other easier way to get the motion back without that kind of traum
...more
What's the difference between adhesive capsulitis and a frozen shoulder? I thought they were the same thing but my sister who is a physician's assistant says they are not. Your sister is correct: froz
...more
What's the best way to recover from a frozen shoulder? Many adults (mostly women) between the ages of 40 and 60 years of age develop a strange case of shoulder pain and stiffness called adhesive caps
...more
Am I too old to have shoulder surgery? I've had a bum shoulder for 20 years. I'm getting too old to put up with this problem. Is it too late to have the surgery now? In theory, yes, you could have sur
...more
I'm playing the odds here. With a Bankart lesion in both shoulders, I'm trying to rehab with Physical Therapy and skip the surgery. What's the likelihood that I can recover on my own? A Bankart lesion
...more
If my shoulder popped out of the socket but went back in the socket by itself, do I have a subluxation or a dislocation? Subluxation is usually defined as an incomplete instability event that did not
...more
Loss of circulation to the hands can occur with arms raised overhead from one of several different problems.
I have a chronic shoulder problem from a degenerating rotator cuff and now bursitis on top of it. The surgeon has given me two treatment choices to consider: Physical Therapy and rehab or surgery. I r
...more
Mother is 72-years old but fairly frail and immobile. She tore a muscle in her chest when the nurses aide was helping transfer her from the bed to the chair. The doctor says not to do surgery (and we
...more
Our son is in the military and just ruptured his major chest muscle bench pressing. They made this diagnosis without even an X-ray. Should we accept the physician's assistant's opinion or insist on hi
...more
My doctor thinks I have shoulder bursitis but wants me to have some ultrasound studies done to confirm it. Aren't there some simpler tests that can answer this? There are some clinical tests examiners
...more
My sister-in-law and I had the same surgery for a rotator cuff tear two days apart. She's already out of her abduction brace and I'm still lugging mine around. Is it safe for me to stop wearing mine n
...more
My mother fell out of bed and broke her upper arm. She will need a shoulder replacement. She has a choice of the traditional ball in socket joint or the new reverse arthroplasty. Can you give us some
...more
I had shoulder surgery about six months ago. They repaired a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum. The joint just seems so stiff some days. Is this normal? According to surgeon observation and reported
...more
How is it possible for a relatively healthy 53-year-old to end up with a rotator cuff and labral tear of the shoulder at the same time without an injury? Most rotator cuff tears are the result of spor
...more
I am 33-years-old and retiring from a professional ball throwing career. My pitching arm has become unstable from overuse. The team doc has suggested I have surgery to tighten up the joint so it will
...more
Two weeks ago, I had rotator cuff surgery. I'm doing the pendulum exercises the Physical Therapist showed me but I think these are stupid. I'm really ready to start using the arm more. Is there any re
...more
My sister had a rotator cuff repair 10 years ago and had a rough time of it. The tear reopened after surgery and she ended up having two more operations. Now I find myself in the same position of need
...more
I just had rotator cuff surgery and start rehab in about a month to six weeks. I don't have a job that involves manual labor but I do enjoy a high level of sports activities on the weekends. How soon
...more
I had an ultrasound picture of my rotator cuff that showed something weird. The muscle that was starting to show signs of wear and tear wasn't torn. It was the other (healthier looking) muscle next to
...more
I saw a physical therapist after dislocating my left shoulder. She put me through a complete program until I was ready to get back to work. From start to finish, I was back on the job in eight weeks.
...more
I confess I'm not much for exercise, so when I was diagnosed with snapping scapula syndrome, I skipped the surgeon's recommendation for Physical Therapy and just took the antiinflammatory pills. But s
...more
I just found out my shoulder pain is caused by something getting pinched in there. We're not sure just what's getting pinched but the MRIs should help clear up the anatomy of the problem. What's the c
...more
Have you ever heard of using laser to treat a shoulder impingement problem? How does it work?
I was very active in sports during my high school and college years. I never hurt myself and always felt proud of that fact. But now it turns out I have a rotator cuff tear in both shoulders and didn'
...more
