Calcification after muscle tear in shoulder...anyone else?

[Aerides]

Last summer, I apparently had a mild muscle tear in my shoulder (not the rotator cuff). It was sore for a few weeks, then it wasn't....and then it was again.

My ortho doc (whom I trust and like) says it's a calcification around the now-old tear, and the discomfort is the result of inflammation in the area surrounding the build up. Gave me some OTC anti-inflammatories and a cortizone shot. That worked for 4 months, about average. So I got a 2nd shot 7 weeks ago.

And now the pain is back. It's very mild in the day, just dull and nagging, but keeps waking me up at night. OTC meds do nothing. I'm gonna try and get in with my doc's office today for another jab to tide me over and really really want to avoid any shoulder surgery because of the downtime after.

Anyone had success resolving something similar? Dr Google isn't very helpful as most non-surgical things focus on the initial event and I'm way past that.

 

[Scratchy]

Ask your doctor whether physical therapy might help.

 

[Aerides]

Ask your doctor whether physical therapy might help.

Thanks, but no, he had no recommendation on that or even adding specific exercises. I have a pretty rigorous strength training regimen as is.

 

[Boho]

I think I have the same shoulder pain. It hurts when I bring my palms together and push and when I reach straight up. Mine was probably caused by sleeping on my arm, which hurt my left rotator cuff five years ago, then my right rotator cuff last year, and now a lower part of my shoulder. If you sleep on your bad arm, that could be preventing it from healing. There's a device that allows you to sleep on your bad side without putting pressure on your arm that someone on this forum pointed me to a few months ago.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

Last summer, I apparently had a mild muscle tear in my shoulder (not the rotator cuff). It was sore for a few weeks, then it wasn't....and then it was again.

My ortho doc (whom I trust and like) says it's a calcification around the now-old tear, and the discomfort is the result of inflammation in the area surrounding the build up. Gave me some OTC anti-inflammatories and a cortizone shot. That worked for 4 months, about average. So I got a 2nd shot 7 weeks ago.

And now the pain is back. It's very mild in the day, just dull and nagging, but keeps waking me up at night. OTC meds do nothing. I'm gonna try and get in with my doc's office today for another jab to tide me over and really really want to avoid any shoulder surgery because of the downtime after.

Anyone had success resolving something similar? Dr Google isn't very helpful as most non-surgical things focus on the initial event and I'm way past that.

I had a bout of bursitis, which my PT helped relieve with a dose of anti-inflammatory medicine delivered via iontophoresis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iontophoresis

No idea if this is indicated in your case or not, but I had never heard of it before.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Following

 

[Aerides]

I had a bout of bursitis, which my PT helped relieve with a dose of anti-inflammatory medicine delivered via iontophoresis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iontophoresis

No idea if this is indicated in your case or not, but I had never heard of it before.

I've had bursitis in my knee before years ago, and it's not that per the xray, but i will ask about that med at my next appointment. I have no movement-related pain, no range of motion issues, no lack of strength in the injured site vs the other side. No "it only hurts when I do that" stuff, no swelling. Just a dull constant mild soreness which becomes an ugly beast at night, even if I purposely sleep on the other side.

I'm not questioning the diagnosis (it's kind of common but more for athletes) just looking for a solution other than surgery. I'd be happy to just get cortizone shots every quarter but I'm concerned now since this one wore off much quicker, and of course can't get in with the Dr again until next week.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I am not a doctor, but I have some training. I wonder if ultrasound might be a good treatment for this. The calcification will keep causing inflammation, but ultrasound might break it up while not damaging the soft tissue. I had a DO that did ultrasound treatments on my ankle when I sprained it badly, it supposedly stimulates healing.

I would pursue it with the orthopedist, tell them you want to know how the calcification can be resolved, or if they expect it to dissolve slowly over time, and that's why they're just treating the irritation for now.

 

[ivinsfan]

I've had something that feels similar to what you describe except in my neck and top of my shoulder. I feel it more on one side, I call it "milkers neck" from my decades of milking cows.

Most bothersome at night when trying to fall asleep. I tried various OTC items and heat and cold and such.

I've had something that has worked like a charm for over 15 years.

Get a bunch of whole habanero peppers. Take off any stems. put in your blender cover with the cheaper vodka you can find. grind them up put in a jar and fill jar with vodka. Let them sit for a week or so. Take a paper towel and wet the towel with the pepper mix. Squeeze out extra liquid. Then rub it on the spot that is hurting. Wear rubber gloves while doing this.

I don't know if it will help you. I know it's dirt cheap. It doesn't involve taking meds or such stuff.

I have a GF that suffered from about her 5th case shingles last year and had horrible pain. She took a course of heavy painkillers and as soon as she went off them, the pain came back. She told me it felt like someone stabbing her with a dozen different knifes in her rib cage. I drove to her house with my tonic and since she hurt so bad she agreed to apply it. She was at her wits end. Less then 5 minutes after putting in on. She said it's just like a miracle, I can't believe it worked. She could take a breath without feeling pain.

PSA do not apply within 30 minutes of taking a shower.

This won't fix your scar tissue but possibly could help with the imflammation.

 

[MissMolly]

I've had something that feels similar to what you describe except in my neck and top of my shoulder. I feel it more on one side, I call it "milkers neck" from my decades of milking cows.

Most bothersome at night when trying to fall asleep. I tried various OTC items and heat and cold and such.

I've had something that has worked like a charm for over 15 years.

Get a bunch of whole habanero peppers. Take off any stems. put in your blender cover with the cheaper vodka you can find. grind them up put in a jar and fill jar with vodka. Let them sit for a week or so. Take a paper towel and wet the towel with the pepper mix. Squeeze out extra liquid. Then rub it on the spot that is hurting. Wear rubber gloves while doing this.

I don't know if it will help you. I know it's dirt cheap. It doesn't involve taking meds or such stuff.

I have a GF that suffered from about her 5th case shingles last year and had horrible pain. She took a course of heavy painkillers and as soon as she went off them, the pain came back. She told me it felt like someone stabbing her with a dozen different knifes in her rib cage. I drove to her house with my tonic and since she hurt so bad she agreed to apply it. She was at her wits end. Less then 5 minutes after putting in on. She said it's just like a miracle, I can't believe it worked. She could take a breath without feeling pain.

PSA do not apply within 30 minutes of taking a shower.

This won't fix your scar tissue but possibly could help with the imflammation.

The peppers don't do anything for the inflammation. They treat only the pain. It's the caspaisin in the peppers.

Capsaicin is the compound found in peppers that gives them their infamous hot and spicy kick. This compound is well-known for its pain-relieving properties. It works by affecting the neurotransmitter that communicates pain signals to the brain. In this way, it can reduce the perception of pain.

 

[ivinsfan]

The peppers don't do anything for the inflammation. They treat only the pain. It's the caspaisin in the peppers.

Capsaicin is the compound found in peppers that gives them their infamous hot and spicy kick. This compound is well-known for its pain-relieving properties. It works by affecting the neurotransmitter that communicates pain signals to the brain. In this way, it can reduce the perception of pain.

Yes that's part of how it works...but as with all natural products we don't know all the benefits.

 

[Time2]

I probably had a tear when a sprained an ankle in 1984*, it ached on and off for 30 years. When it was aching it felt like I had to move it, but moving it didn't relieve the feeling. Don't know why, but in recent years it doesn't ache like it used to. However, after my wife gets up, I still like to slide my ankle under her heavy body pillow, just seems to feel better with pressure on it.


*I did make few appointments with a doctor when I did it, it was so painful I could not have a sheet going over my toe. I wanted something done, and I think because I was in a college town at a college related hospital, the doc thought I just wanted drugs. I wanted it fixed.

 

[mystang52]

I developed chronic issues with my shoulder that was affecting my swimming regimen. Ultimately I had surgical debridement ("house cleaning") and it cured the issue. My shoulder problem was not painful except with certain motions; had I not been a regular swimmer, I would have eschewed the surgery.
I'm no doctor, but maybe this would resolve your problem as well (BTW the recovery was very quick).

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

A device called a TENS unit sends electrical impulses to painful muscles, stimulating them and causing them to twitch. A medical massage therapist lent me one for use on my shoulder, and it seems to reduce stiffness. It's mentioned as effective therapy in this U of VA webpage: https://uvahealth.com/services/orthopedics/ortho-conditions/calcific-tendonitis-of-the-shoulder

Of course, I'd find their advice more credible if they spelled "tendinitis" correctly, but they're doctors, not copy editors.

 

[Scratchy]

Of course, I'd find their advice more credible if they spelled "tendinitis" correctly, but they're doctors, not copy editors.

Both spellings are commonly used. I don't think either could fairly be called incorrect.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Both spellings are commonly used. I don't think either could fairly be called incorrect.

I double checked, and you are correct.

 

[Scratchy]

I double checked, and you are correct.

I had to check too. There is only one correct spelling of "tendon" so it's interesting the two options for tend_nitis. You learn something new every day!

 

[Aerides]

Thanks all for the ideas. I met with my Doc again today and got another cortisone shot to at least kick the problem down the road into (hopefully) next year's deductible...

He recommends an MRI next so he has more clarity vs. the xray, but is pretty clear this isn't going to go away on its own as hoped, and as sometimes happens. Ultimately it will need some sort of arthroscopic surgery to either remove...and that could be a simpler clean-out (like the debridement mentioned above) or more complicated, depending on exactly where the deposit is lodged wrt the rotator cuff, tendons, etc.) But it's gonna be one of those things he can't promise either way until he gets in there.

Good news is I can keep up normal activity, including weightlifting, and not slack off on that, as ultimately the stronger I am going into surgery, the better the rehab outcome will be.