Shoulder Pain - I need advice guys...

[blango]

Cool man, let me know what he said.

If its tendon related, i have other things for you re: diet etc.

Tony

[Mike]

Hi everybody,
I have a tendinitis in my right shoulder after digging a hole and pulling out a b&%!y bush in the garden some weeks ago.
After some some cortison injections, and conga abstinence, it got better, but there´s nothing I can really DO as I am no painkiller-eater... :;):
You have to live with your limitations, be a bit careful (oh yes, and do the stretching thing) and - hey presto, then it works!
Initially I was really down because the prickling pain was bugging me, but you get used to it and focus on posture and technique more.
The doctor said that many movements (like digging, hammering etc.) can cause a muscular trauma or microtrauma, especially when you are not not used to that type of movement. Age is another crucial factor too. Nobody beyond 40 has got the muscles and joints of a 20-year-old.

So all in all, I would be more careful to avoid such awful pains.
Personally, I´m not into the graden business any longer -
I´d rather dig my own grave before I can´t play congas any longer :laugh:

[folkloricoSD]

I just got back from the doctor, and she said I had slight bersidis. She perscribed me some anti-inflamitory pills, and told me to keep my playing light. I really don't like taking medications too much, but if its going to help then I think I might. I guess it just takes time to get over this injury. Oh and she also referred me to a physical therapist. So hopefully that will help too. Thanks again for all the help guys, I really appreciate it.

[yambu321]

:cool:



Edited By yambu321 on 1196046453

[Mike]

Hi Folklorico SD,
my doctor told me it is difficult to cure anything in the shoulder as long as the sinews are affected. As a consequence, physical therapy wouldn´t help much as the sinews can´t be reached unlike musclular tissue.

sounds like you might have injured your right shoulders Rotator cuff

What Yambu 321 says is right, it seems like that. My only advice is NEVER I say NEVER let a surgeon make an operation. Although many doctors says it brings release, operations on the shoulder joint often bring about further consequences.
Just my 2 cents. I deeply hope your pain will get better. Anti-inflamitory pills for the acute pain are OK - and the rest will take some time at least.
All the best,
Mike

[jorge]

FolkloricoSD,
Your doctor did prescribe the right things (especially the PT), since often these injuries involve some tendinitis or strains of some of the shoulder muscles in addition to bursitis. Your description of pain especially when rotating your upper arm to hit the tumbadora suggests rotator cuff strain or tendinitis more than bursitis. Treating the injury as a possible tendinitis or strain in addition to bursitis, as she did, will do no harm and will probably help you. The antiinflammatories are to reduce inflammation more than to reduce pain, and should be taken around the clock for the period she prescribed them, not intermittently only when you are having pain.

Physical therapy can be very helpful for rotator cuff tendinitis and other types of tendinitis, IF you have a good physical therapist. Ask your therapist if he or she thinks your pain is related to the rotator cuff muscles. Often PTs have time to do a more thorough physical exam of the affected area than physicians do. Once the pain becomes less after a few weeks of reduced activity, your PT should be able to do exercises to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and other supporting muscles of the shoulder. These exercises are usually done with light dumbells and/or machines, doing at least 15 reps, 3 sets, NOT with muscle-bulking heavier weights at lower reps. It usually takes several months of PT. It is also important that your PT do stretching exercises to ensure full range of motion. Towards the end of your PT, get the therapist to teach you home exercises you can keep doing at home to keep your shoulder muscles toned and prevent future injuries. If your PT does not seem comfortable with these questions, or does not seem knowledgeable about the variety of shoulder injuries that this may be, find another PT sooner rather than later.

Other remedies, including glucosamine/chondroitin, have not, to my knowledge, been shown to help bursitis or tendinitis, and can have side effects. Specifically chondroitin often upsets your stomach, is not absorbed into your blood, and randomized clinical trials of chondroitin by itself have not found any benefit for arthritis either. Glucosamine has been shown in several randomized clinical trials to help symptoms of osteoarthritis and possibly to reduce the rate of progression of osteoarthritis, but I have not seen any clinical trials of glucosamine for tendinitis or bursitis. All drugs, whether standard pharmaceuticals or "natural" supplements, can have side effects. For "natural" or complementary or alternative remedies the side effects have often not been well studied and are not known. Sometimes the side effects only come to light many years later when an epidemic of some side effect is observed and reported by the CDC or clinical researchers. PT is your best bet.

[blango]

Jorge!

Wow, you are one smart dude.

Thanks for all the info on this. I found PT very helpful for tendinitis.

Thanks agian,

Tony.

[folkloricoSD]

Yes, thank you very much Jorge!! I really appreciate your post. Hearing the info that you posted puts me at ease, because it looks like i'm heading the right way to recovery. Everyone I've talked to said that it's a slow process though. I even talked to one guy that said it will take one full year for it to feel like it used to. Anyways thank you agian for the great post.

[blango]

Jorge,

Hope all is well on the east coast...

Please do some bragging and tell all about your education, if you will. or could that cause problems?

If i may ask a couple of questions,

What is the difference between Bursitis and tendinitis, as far as treatment?

Any tips on non-inflamatory diet?

Much Love,

Tony

PS. i didnt get your address to send that DVD

[jorge]

A bursa is a flat sack of fluid located between the skin and a joint, that provides cushioning and lubrication between the skin and the bone. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Bursitis and tendinitis (don't ask me why we spell it with an i not an o) are very different in their causes, although both get better with rest. Typically, tendinitis is caused by overuse, highly repetitive and forceful hand and arm movements. Tendinitis is often difficult to treat (especially as we get older) because tendon has very few cells to regenerate itself and takes a long time to recover from injury. Rest is best until the severe pain subsides, then work with a physical therapist to slowly build up from light resistance loads to heavy resistance. Non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (eg, ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin) help some as does ice after activity. Stretching (after proper warmup) can lengthen some of the muscle fibers and even out the load on the tendon, spreading it among more muscle fibrils. Prevention of tendinitis is the best approach, doing regular resistance strengthening exercises and gentle stretching daily. Playing congas is a complex motion, so rather than try to understand and describe what to do or not to do to prevent tendinitis, I say find the oldest master drummer you can find, whose style you like, find out if he (or she) has had tendinitis or other musculoskeletal problems, and if not, try to learn how they hit the drum and play without injuring themselves. Los mayores have often found from personal experience, actual instruction, or cultural exposure how to play a lot and play well without hurting themselves. The "concussionists" (as Mongo used to call them) who play with poor technique or play too hard usually wind up stopping playing regularly before they get real old, so look for the older drummers.

Like most doctors (my training is in internal medicine and occupational / environmental medicine), I don't know anything about "antiinflammatory diets". The one article in a Medline search on tendinitis and diet is from 1982 and is called "The effect of embryonal and early fetal calf thymuses on blood changes and well-being in human beings." Doesn't sound very helpful. My own approach since getting Achilles tendinitis about 20 years ago, and a mild rotator cuff tendinitis in the past 5 years, has been to eat more lean red meat and animal protein, more salads and vegetables, and less carbs, and to do stretching and strengthening exercises I worked out with my physical therapist. Playing with a mic if you play with an amplified group would also help.



Edited By jorge on 1184737885

[blango]

Praise!

Thanks for the info brother.

Now I can tell my girl i have to eat more steak! :laugh:

Seriously, I see your point about technique. If I played more softly, that would help too. For me, its playing in a folkloric setting where people are singing and several drums playing etc. Powerful works well in that setting, but tasty does to. I like to use both.

When I watch Sandy Perez play quinto, there are many times when he is playing the living hell out of it, and others when he just marks.

However, I can see why older players develop the "less is more" so well.

Thanks again Dr Jorge,

Tony

[Mike]

Hey jorge,
you have spread highly useful information indeed!

I´ve been to another (now I can say better) doctor yesterday and he prescribed PHYSICAL THERAPY. He said this would be very effective to fight tendinitis - just like you said. It takes some time though (up to 20 sessions), but of course I´m looking forward to it.
Thanks again for sharing your experience!

Mike

[folkloricoSD]

Thank you Jorge!!! It is awesome to have someone like you on the board. I have soaked up all of your usefull information.

[jorge]

Glad to be of help. Please revisit this thread periodically and let us know how it goes over the next few months, especially what you find most helpful in alleviating your shoulder pain and preventing it in the future. Get better soon!
I finished my own 6 month course of shoulder physical therapy yesterday (broken clavicle from a bicycle accident) and will try to keep up the dumbell exercises at home. My shoulder feels stronger than it has ever been in the past.
Jorge

[folkloricoSD]

I definatley will... The stretching is already helping me a lot. I have been stetching it out really good every morning, and it is really feeling better. It is not as sore and stiff as it used to be in the morning. I also stretch really good before and after I play, and I am not sore afterwards. I start physical therapy next week and that should help too. Thank you everyone for all the great advice.