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What Causes Left Shoulder Pain While Exercising?

Posted on Mon, 10 Aug 2015

Question: I always feel left shoulder pain when exercising . That's why my family dr told me that he needs to rule our cadiac problems . He also told me that i am still young (36 years) but he need to be sure .
Anyway i did the following cardiac tests :
EKG : normal
Stress test : negative ( reached 105 % ) of my target heart rate .
Echocardiogram : & also normal thanks God

But i am suffering from disk protrusion c5 & c6 (pls find attached report of MRI)
Mu question is what it could be the reason of the shoulder pain ?

Answered by Dr. Praveen (14 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Neck collar, orthopedician opinion for further management

Detailed Answer:
Hi sir.Thanks for your query.

I am glad that your cardiac workup was normal and healthy.
Disc protrusion as per the report is one of the reasons I would suspect for your shoulder pain.The nerves arising from your neck supply your shoulder, arm, forearm, hand and upper part of the thorax (chest and back).

I would recommend a neck collar for a couple of months to reduce the weight of the head on the cervical spine and there by ease the muscle spasm and decompress the nerves.This will automatically reduce your shoulder pain too.

Since the grade/severity of the symptoms and findings in the report need to be assessed and correlated to plan further line of management I would recommend to consult an orthopedist for further advice on the same.

Hope this answers your query.Get well soon.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (32 minutes later)

You are right as
I wake up each day with a headache & pain along my 2 shoulders which force me to take 2 sachets of strong pain killer per day .

Can this protrusuion also cause a very minor pain in my left lower jaw & sometimes numb feeling .

About the collar how long should i wear it per day ?

Thank

s

Answered by Dr. Praveen (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Cervical collar are used intermittently and as per your physician's advice

Detailed Answer:
Hi.Thanks for the revert.

Yes, you are right there is a possibility of jaw pain provided if you feel the pain is radiating type.However dental problems need to be excluded.

It should be on a short term basis – maybe for the first few hours or days – and intermittently.

It should not be used constantly throughout the day.It should be removed while sleeping.

For cervical strain, for home care use, as in your case cervical collars should be used on a limited basis for comfort, but not for an extended period of time, which can make the neck pain worse and more stiff over time.

I would recommend to discuss with your physician/orthopedician because depending on the extent and nature of protrusion the management has to be planned- whether conservative or surgery(if required).

Hope this answers your query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (5 hours later)

What do you mean with radiating type ?

Answered by Dr. Praveen (18 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Radiating means spreading from point where you first felt pain

Detailed Answer:
Hi again.Regret for the delay.

Radiation simply means that the pain is spreading.I wanted to understand if the pain from your neck goes to your shoulder and so on.Thanks.

Regards
Dr.Praveen

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (1 hour later)

Sometimes i feel pain in both my neck & shoulder & sometimes i feel pain in my shoulder when exercising or moving my arms . When climping stairs or running .
But i need to know if there is a relation between jaw & shoulder .

Answered by Dr. Praveen (12 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Yes both are related

Detailed Answer:
Hi sir.

All your compliants described by you are related to compression of the nerves as discussed previously.Yes there is an overlap of the nerve supply of jaw and neck.Hope this helps.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (3 days later)

Thanks Dr for your quic reply .k

Answered by Dr. Praveen (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Anytime Sir!!!

Detailed Answer:
You are most welcome.

Keep me posted about the status of your health.Get well soon.Physiotherapy might actually help.Discuss with your doctor.

Good luck!

Regards
Dr.Praveen

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (1 hour later)

When you mentioned that the thorax area is affected by the neck protrusion you confirmed for me why sometimes when i do the "hight heels exercise " i feel chest & back pain at the same time . So i am thankful for your infos .

Answered by Dr. Praveen (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Can be co-incidental

Detailed Answer:
Hi again.Thanks for your query.

I am not really sure of the kind of exercise you mentioned.But yes it obviously affects the spine and that the reason why you may have felt chest as well as back pain.However I would presume that you donot have chest pain never ever.

Thanks!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Praveen (5 minutes later)

What do you mean with
"However i would persume that you do not have chest pain never ever "
Pls remember that i did all cardiac tests just 3 or 4 months ago & thanks God it was normal .
Hight heels exercise is depending in jumping with my legs as hight & as fast as i can . You can youtube it .

Answered by Dr. Praveen (18 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Avoid that exercise if it precipitates chest/back pain

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for the information.I did youtube it.It was a new learning.

I understand that all cardiac tests were normal.Nothing to worry.It is unlikely that the chest pain is related to heart and could be neurological as discussed earlier.I would recommend to avoid doing this exercise if it exacerbates/aggravates/precipitates your pain.

Hope this helps.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar