joint pain assessment
Right shoulder pain … Think the doctor diagnosed …?
I had an accident at work in prison labor, involving inmates and I and a drop of 9 feet to a metal field. I fell on my shoulder (right side) and have been unemployed since 1/9/09. The evaluation was a tear in my joint acromioclavicular right. Now I'm no doctor, but physical therapy is not helping me, and lately the pain is so intense that I dizziness, headaches, and get sick in the stomach. First, from now doctors note is only good until March 28. I know I need more time, I can not move your shoulder to all and the pain is so intense I can not think. MAX-Working in a prison I need to be 100% for me and fellow officers …. But what could it be? X-rays showed nothing … and the therapist wants me to get an MRI … Any ideas?
Start with an MRI. That should reveal damage soft tissue more accurately than radiography. Shoulders are quite complex, so its very difficult to say what is particular injury might be. However, dizziness and headaches may be a clue: its possible that the injury has caused spasms in the muscle that connects the clavicle and the head / neck and muscles close to it. This muscle (the SCM), flows along the carotid artery, which runs parallel to the vagus nerve, and connects to the head. Spasms or tension of this muscle can therefore lead to dizziness (blockage of blood flow to the head), headache (pressure on the cranial base) and nausea (pressure on the vagus nerve). Does your neck feel stiff? This could be the culprit. If so, treatments to relax the muscle (s) such as therapeutic massage, may be appropriate. Hope that helps.
