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Suggest Treatment For Pain In Upper Arm After Swimming
Question: My Dr diagnosed bursitis, not rotator cuff issue. No pain when swimming or tennis, but after a few hours, pain in upper arm returns. I also follow RICE program, but pain still with me.
Brief Answer:
Rotator cuff tear / tendonitis
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
It would be unusual to have a bursitis causing pain in this location. Pain in the upper arm around the shoulder joint can be due to a problem in the shoulder joint itself or a problem in the cervical spine in which the pain is referred into the shoulder joint.
Rotator cuff problems typically cause a painful XXXXXXX which is pain usually above 90 degrees of shoulder abduction or flexion which eases at the top of the range of motion when the hand is well above the head. It is usually associated with arthritis in the acromioclavicular joint. The excess bone that forms as a result of this arthritis rubs on the muscles that stabilize the shoulder and cause inflammation and pain in the subacromial space.
The diagnosis can be reached by giving the patient a local anaesthetic and steroid shot in the subacromial space. This often gets rid of the pain straight away as the local anaesthetic takes effect. The pain then often comes back until the steroid reduces the inflammation over a few days.
An ultrasound scan of the shoulder can show a tear in the rotator cuff as can an MRI. Plain X-rays would show any arthritis in the shoulder joint or the acromioclavicular joint or any calcium deposits in the rotator cuff.
Antiinflammatory medication can be of benefit.
Physiotherapy can be of benefit in strengthening the muscles as the pain starts to improve.
I hope this answers your question.
Best wishes
Rotator cuff tear / tendonitis
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Thanks for your question.
It would be unusual to have a bursitis causing pain in this location. Pain in the upper arm around the shoulder joint can be due to a problem in the shoulder joint itself or a problem in the cervical spine in which the pain is referred into the shoulder joint.
Rotator cuff problems typically cause a painful XXXXXXX which is pain usually above 90 degrees of shoulder abduction or flexion which eases at the top of the range of motion when the hand is well above the head. It is usually associated with arthritis in the acromioclavicular joint. The excess bone that forms as a result of this arthritis rubs on the muscles that stabilize the shoulder and cause inflammation and pain in the subacromial space.
The diagnosis can be reached by giving the patient a local anaesthetic and steroid shot in the subacromial space. This often gets rid of the pain straight away as the local anaesthetic takes effect. The pain then often comes back until the steroid reduces the inflammation over a few days.
An ultrasound scan of the shoulder can show a tear in the rotator cuff as can an MRI. Plain X-rays would show any arthritis in the shoulder joint or the acromioclavicular joint or any calcium deposits in the rotator cuff.
Antiinflammatory medication can be of benefit.
Physiotherapy can be of benefit in strengthening the muscles as the pain starts to improve.
I hope this answers your question.
Best wishes
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Last Dr. ruled out rotator cuff because I was able to do a 180 degrees with only slight pain. He was very sure it it is bursitis
Brief Answer:
Subacromial bursitis
Detailed Answer:
Hi thanks for your follow up question,
You can have a subacromial bursitis although this is often secondary to ACJ joint arthritis and or rotator cuff pathology. In fact your can think of problems in this region as being a spectrum of disorders including osteoarthritis of the ACJ, subacromial bursitis and rotator cuff tendonitis and tears, biceps tendinopathy. All of these problems kind of happen together because of subacromial space narrowing and inflammation. This is a good picture of the anatomy.
http://healingartsce.com/images/sh%20biceps%20tendonitis.jpg
The non-operative and operative treatment for most of these conditions is very similar.
Antiinflammatory medication, steroid shots, physiotherapy is the mainstay of nonoperative treatment.
Operative treatment often involves subacromial decompression, ACJ joint debridement, rotator cuff repair.
Your symptoms do not sound too severe and so you should respond to non-operative measures.
Best wishes
Karl
Subacromial bursitis
Detailed Answer:
Hi thanks for your follow up question,
You can have a subacromial bursitis although this is often secondary to ACJ joint arthritis and or rotator cuff pathology. In fact your can think of problems in this region as being a spectrum of disorders including osteoarthritis of the ACJ, subacromial bursitis and rotator cuff tendonitis and tears, biceps tendinopathy. All of these problems kind of happen together because of subacromial space narrowing and inflammation. This is a good picture of the anatomy.
http://healingartsce.com/images/sh%20biceps%20tendonitis.jpg
The non-operative and operative treatment for most of these conditions is very similar.
Antiinflammatory medication, steroid shots, physiotherapy is the mainstay of nonoperative treatment.
Operative treatment often involves subacromial decompression, ACJ joint debridement, rotator cuff repair.
Your symptoms do not sound too severe and so you should respond to non-operative measures.
Best wishes
Karl
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Answered by
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