I m a 48-year-old male in reasonably good shape. About a week and a half ago I tried to lift my 8-year-old daughter onto my shoulders--something I ve done many times with no problem. This time, however, I felt like I strained/sprained a muscle/ligament/tendon in my left arm. I felt like my arm was being twisted in a strange way. At the time I felt a sharp pain that went away leaving me with a dull ache that persists after a week and a half. At first I felt the aching primarily in my left upper forearm, near the ulna, but now sometimes the pain refers into my upper arm and shoulders. The pain is worse when I try to do things like floss my teeth or wash my face and it seems to get worse throughout the day--I have trouble finding a comfortable sleeping position. Generally, when I wake up in the morning the pain is gone. The arm is also a lot weaker. I can only do about a quarter of the number of pushups that I would normally do in a set. Also, I have a history of dislocating both of my shoulders, although it has been many years since the last incident, and I didn t feel like I dislocated it this time...for what it s worth. Do you have any idea of what might have happened and what preventive measures I should take in the future, as well as any exercises that would be beneficial to strengthen my arm? I have an appointment with an orthopaedic specialist on Monday, I will have to pay out of pocket. I am living out of state, and my insurance won t cover out-of-state visits. I don t have a lot of money to spend unfortunately. Thank you in advance for your time!