What the hell just happened to my shoulder?

[tridim]

Earlier today my shoulder started hurting pretty bad, I think from sleeping on it weird. I couldn't really locate the source of the pain, but it felt like it was somewhere near my neck, radiating down to the shoulder. I could barely move my arm without feeling pain and it became unbearable if I moved my shoulder blade upward, like shrugging my shoulders.

Well, long story short, 10 minutes ago I reached down (by accident) to pick up the dog dish and there was a fairly decent POP/Crack somewhere in the shoulder area and instantly all the pain went away, it feels 100% normal and I have full motion.

Was my shoulder dislocated? I tried to test for that while I was in pain and it seemed like it was in socket. Any guesses? And no, I didn't go see Benny Hinn today. :)

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. most likely you had a tendon injury

in your neck which referred pain to your shoulder

[TahitiNut]

2. Pinched nerve.

It happens to me occasionally ... when I'm in better shape. :(

[tridim]

4. So was the POP the nerve un-pinching?

I've had them before and they always seem to linger for days no matter what I do.

[TahitiNut]

8. That's how I think of it. (I'm no doctor and I've never bothered seeing one about it.)

So, don't take it as "medical advice" ... I just think of it as being "flexible" and getting joints out of alignment occasionally. It can happen in the morning, if I've slept particularly deeply when tired and wake up without "waking my body" (doing moderate stretching and flexing).

[buddysmellgood]

3. Did you recently turn 40?

[tridim]

7. Not for another 4 years

Getting old sucks. :(

[buddysmellgood]

15. It's not for wussies.

[seabeyond]

9. bah hahahaha... lol lol. that is it. yesterday i had a what the hell

happened to my whole right side. from neck around the front and the back, like the whole lung. i did nothing. just pain all day. today, tis gone....

yup yup yup

45

wtf

[Kolesar]

5. orthopedic surgeons

I have had a few shoulder problems, but nothing like your situation. Try www.aaos.org -> http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/ Best wishes!

[davidwparker]

6. make an appointment with your doctor

[sam sarrha]

14. the pop could be a scared tendon, mine is really scared bad you can hear it snap in the next room if

rotate my arm in an circle on a vertical plan, i screwed in a light bulb.. i am tall, and had my arm in a sling for a week.. when it gets inflamed i cant even use that arm,, very painful, if it is a rotator cuff problem or something like it you better catch it early!!!, and get therapy.

my rotator tendon has a large lump of scar tissue on it and it can get hung up and then gets seriously inflamed

if it is bad and gets neglected it can tear or even break..

[BoneDaddy]

10. Dont listen to anyone

till you have had it checked out...it could be a number of things...they way your slept...shoulder subluxation, pinched nerve, nerve entrapment by bone or muscle.

Sounds muscular since you woke on it.... try ice for the first 3 days to limit inflamation, rest it and after 3 days if it continues to hurt, check out an orthopedist who will most likely subscribe anti inflamatories and rest... if you want check out a chiropractor or massage therapist if it continues or PT...physical therapy.

[LeftCoast]

11. Sounds like you saved yourself a trip to the chiropracter

From my experience as a chiropractic patient it sounds like you had a joint in your neck or shoulder out of place, thus pinching the nerve and causing the pain. When you reached down you inadvertently snapped it back into alignment.

edited to add: I am in no way suggesting you should or should not go to a doctor about this. Only you can decide if that's necessary.

[TahitiNut]

12. Yeah... that's how I think of it when it happens to me.

Sometimes I could 'fix' it myself by hanging from a door by my hands and letting my weight relign stuff.

[tridim]

16. I'll certainly go if it starts hurting again

But like I said, the pain is gone.. Completely! No need to schedule an appointment yet.

[kevinbgoode]

13. I'm not gonna give the lecture about proper training. . .

hahahaha...okay...I will. I'm over 50 and believe me, weight training and some cardio are very important ways to stave off the onset of aches and pains. It does sound like you just cramped up the muscle badly or pinched it while sleeping - and it might be a good idea to see a doctor. It would also be a good idea to ask someone about some simple shoulder exercises using very light weights (like 1 - 3 pounds). You could do some simple shoulder shrugs to start stretching and strengthening those muscles. Ask the doc about it. . .

[CrispyQ]

17. I have been strength training for 4 months now &

I AM STUNNED AT THE CHANGES IN MY BODY! :7

I am loving it! I still mentally struggle to get my ass to do cardio, but I love weights! And I can hardly style my hair cuz I can't take my eyes off my tightening triceps that used to jiggle so badly! And my legs, holy crap, my thighs are looking like they did when I was 20.

Growing Old Is Not for Sissies, by Etta Clark is a great, inspirational book. Here are two of her subjects:


Marie Wilcox Little at 73




John Turner at 67


Her second book has another pic of Turner about 12 years later & he is still in great shape.

[kevinbgoode]

20. It isn't easy, but it's well worth it.

About six years ago, I was plagued by terrible lower back pain every six months or so - so bad that I would have trouble sitting or sleeping for at least a week. It was AWFUL. . .when I started weight training, I have never had that kind of problem again. Now I've had some rotater cuff problems from the training, but a cortisone treatment and some therapy takes care of that. . .really, it's just hard to stay on a schedule when I'm busy all the time, but once you can do it, it really makes you feel so much more alive.

[CrispyQ]

21. "...it really makes you feel so much more alive."

That is the best, yet most subtle pay off!

[leftofthedial]

18. space aliens had kidnapped part of your shoulder/spine/neck

while you slept

and they just zapped it back while you were reaching down

[symbolman]

19. You're lucky

I've got arthritis of the spine, mostly in the neck, and every morning I wake up in excruciating pain, sometimes my wife has to peel me out of bed - I start off the day with two hydrocodones and sit in a chair like a stepped on spider until I can move enough to not injure myself, or trip and fall down some stairs..

Most times I'm okay after that, but I can just pull a doorknob wrong and end up broken :)

I used to pick up refridgerators and CARRY them - when I was younger and a factory punk, I used to spend every Friday in a Bar armwrestling ANYONE over paychecks, sometimes I didn't win, but I Never LOST.

I think that's what is killing my spine now :)

Get thee to a doctor just in case, don't want it to happen again and then NOT be able to get there, eh?

[ladjf]

22. Try sleeping on your side with a pillow that is fairly firm and the

thickness of the distance from the side of your face to the edge of your shoulder so that your neck remains in line with your backbone.

[stellanoir]

23. a not so ancient Chinese cure is to put

two tennis balls in a spare sock (everyone has one of those.)

Tie a knot in the sock scrunching the tennis balls together as tightly as possible.

You place them under that bone that protrudes at the nape of your neck at the base of your skull at the top of your spine. You sandwich that bone and lie on a flat surface, either the floor or a bed or couch without a pillow for no more than twenty minutes. It aligns your whole skeletal system.

It's even better after one of these baths.

"Take baths. If you have no bathtub available, then bathe around. Aaaand don't tell me that you have no extra time for baths, as baths take about 15 minutes, showers take 5-10. No one is really that busy or all too important to not be able to do so.

Cayce recommended adding 1 part baking soda to 2 parts Epsom Salts for baths. That stuff is really cheap. and readily available. I add my fave oil (lavender). You can add yours. Ritual full immersion is an age old, time & tried tradition for more than just physical purification. It is especially so for more sensitive sorts. It is great to do during lunations. That would mean, once every two weeks or so.
It is alleged to release all sorts of accumulated psychic effluvia from bodies and auric fields . I just know that when I take one, I invariably feel reborn, and am reminded that I too have a life, instead of contemplating the troubles of others all the time as is my ridiculously inherent proclivity."

Arnica applied topically won't hurt either.

Feel better. . .okay?