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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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I Am A 22 Year Old Female And Am Very

I am a 22 year old female and am very active. I broke my non-dominant collar bone playing soccer 7 years ago but was never recommended PT. The bone still sticks out, and I’m guessing it is approx. 1.5-2cm shorter than it used to be. 3 years ago I subluxed the same shoulder (posteriorly, I think) while bench pressing. It was very painful for a few weeks, so I avoided upper body lifting for awhile. That shoulder has subsequently subluxed while I was batting in an IM softball game, slinging my backpack on, and a couple other times that I can’t specially think of. With each incident, the pain lessened. Now my shoulder shifts around a lot, often (but not always) without pain.
My range of motion is limited, and I can tell that it’s because the joint shifts out when I lift my arm above my head. Even if I try to keep the joint pushed in with my other hand, it always slips out and I can’t force my arm into certain positions.
I get spasms in my trap a lot, which can sometimes stop me in my tracks. I’ve had many massages in the past year, and also try to self-roll.
Occasionally I get a sharp pain somewhere near the collarbone area when I breathe. It feels like it’s a little bit behind the bone, not the bone itself.
My scap was pretty unstable until I started PT 4 weeks ago and the grinding/clicking in my scap has decreased a lot as my lat strength has increased, so that’s clearly improving. However, when I do ROM exercises focusing on squeezing my scaps and activating the lats, it makes my shoulder feel even more unstable.
Is the long-ago collar bone break and current shoulder issues possibly related, or am I just making that up since they’re in similar locations?
I haven’t seen a doctor for any of my shoulder issues since I was cleared 7 years ago. The only thing I know is that last year my athletic trainer said that I have multidirectional instability in that shoulder. She didn’t seem too concerned about rehabbing or getting to the bottom of the issue since I was playing soccer. Now that I’m out college and soccer and have time to focus on my shoulder, I’m hoping that PT will fix things, but I’m wondering if that is a realistic hope?
Although most of the time I’m not in much pain (I’m able to to chin-ups, push-ups, most normal upper body stuff), it’s my non-dominant shoulder, and my ROM isn't terrible, I would like to have full range of motion and get rid of the instability so that I can pick up old sports like basketball, softball, and ultimate again. Do my problems sound like something that PT can fix? Would you recommend seeing a ortho, getting and MRI, thinking about surgery etc, or should I stick with PT for awhile?
Fri, 18 Sep 2015
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I Am A 22 Year Old Female And Am Very