I know we have kicked the burning pain issue around before, but, does anyone else have bad shoulder problesm that create burning pain inthe upper arm and shoulder area??
My shoulder pain comes and goes, but when it is bad if I don’t keep moving my arm constantly I get a terrible buring pain int he arm arm that runs down to my elbow. This makes it difficult to type and use a mouse all day. I dd get a vertical mouse as someone here recommended and that helped my wrist and lower arm a lot.
Neurontin slows it down some, but even 5mg oxycodone doesn’t help much more. I just want to make sure it is from teh PsA and not something else.
I wouldn’t bet on the PsA. Could be a rotator tear or even som “yuck” in the cervical spine. Thats the spot it first shows up especially if it is PsA related…
You are a guy and very close to that magic age of 60 so yeah I do. Same with knees. Some interesting numbers and ones that make orthos very well off: 60% of folks our age (I’m older) have patellar tear (knee) that make life misererable from time to time. 47% have some kind of rotator cuff tear. 10% of partial-thickness tears heal and 10% become smaller, but 53% of tears will propagate and 28% progress to full-thickness tears. Full-thickness rotator cuff tears do not heal spontaneously, and may progress with time. So chances its a “Birthday Problem” are pretty good.
They (orthos) love to fix this stuff. They get 3 - 6 grand for 10 minutes work with the scope. With knees half get better, half don’t (same numbers without surgery) Shoulder fare better and are far more worth considering. That doesn’t mean that PsA may not be the cause as micro damage at the entheses can get things rolling, but so does age and activity. Usually all one needs is a good Ultrasound with contrast to eliminate subacromial bursitis and determine any soft tissue damage, but these days many orthos have their own MRI so go right to that…
I was diagnosed with PsA in October. I have been taking Plaquenil since. About a month ago I started having severe pain in my shoulder down to my wrist, across my shoulder blade. I can’t raise my arm in any direction with substantial pain right below the shoulder on my arm. I finally went to my Orthopedist. I have what they call a frozen shoulder which is lots in inflammation right in the shoulder socket. He also thinks it may be a rotator cuff tear. I’m doing physical therapy but it’s not helping. The next step in cortisone shots.
The Ortho did say the combination of Plaquenil and PsA is the main cause. My Rhuemy is changing my PsA meds to Otezla bc the other is not working like it should after taking it for 3 1/2 months.
I so know how you feel. It’s my right shoulder which is my dominant arm. You don’t know how much you use it til you can’t.
Anyone else with suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I, for a long time, thought my shoulder pain had to do with PsA. I’ve been taking biologics and Methotrexate for a while and neither stopped my shoulder from hurting. It got so bad one day I had to go to urgent care, and the Doctor there advised me that he thought it was my neck and not the arthritis. Sure enough, I found out that I have severe cervical stenosis caused by ossification of the longitudinal ligament ( OPLL). I also found out I have Degenerative Disc Disease as well. I will be having 2 surgeries in one week (anterior and posterior) to correct my condition.
I’d say it would be worth it to talk with your Doctor and see if it’s possible that you might have something going on with your neck as well.
Best of luck to you.
Hi there, I’m quite new to the forum but I also have this issue. I’m only 22 so I don’t think it has much to do with age… My knees are also in the trash. Does anyone have any suggestions for helping with the searing shoulder and knee pain?
Thanks!
I commonly get PsA in my shoulder. My symptoms move around, but often localise as the major symptom in one set of joints, or down one side etc, often for months to years at a time.
When about 5 months ago, my right shoulder started acting up, I just assumed it was PsA… again.
After about three months though, I started to realise that the shoulder was not flaring and relieving at the same time as my cervical spine, which has been my main issue for about a year and a half now.
It seemed to be responding to really specific movements, too. It seemed like I might be getting a frozen shoulder, but dr google told me that the range of movement limitations I had were not entirely consistent with that either, and even if it was that, I wanted some advice.
So I shipped myself off to the Physio (PT) and it turned out that it was essentially a mechanical problem, exacerbated by how I was positioning my shoulder both in passive movements (I drive a mouse most of the day), and under active force.
A release, a couple of exercises, and mindfully moving, and after only about 3 days, my pain and ROM had improved by about 80%.
I’m not suggesting that this sort of result will happen with everyone - but I would encourage everyone to check anything either a bit out of the usual, not appearing to flare consistently with the rest of your PsA, or even stuff that you are sure is PsA related, to see what your PT can do.
Thank you for your comments. I did discontinue the physical therapy and had an MRI on my shoulder and cervical spine. I get the results on Friday 2/23/18.
I’m really hoping I don’t need cortisone shots. But that would be better than having surgery.
Hi there… I sympathise with you, I’ve not long gotten through a frozen shoulder… it took about a year all up to come almost right… I was given exercises to do which didn’t do a lot of good, and a rheumy that I saw said “no amount of exercise will fix that”… I did end up having 2 cortisone shots in it (which helped) and I did keep using it within it’s limited range of movement (essentially it got to the point where the only movement I had in my arm was good for using a hand saw, so I took the opportunity to prune a few trees haha) now I have almost full range of movement in it, but putting it behind my back I can reach only as far as my waist, which isn’t bad. Frozen shoulder is one of the most painful things, although mine was only a problem if it was moved passed it’s range of movement, then the pain was excruciating. All the best with a quick recovery with it!!!
I got the results of the MRI Friday. I have arthritis, bursitis, and tendonitis with the frozen shoulder as well as Degenerative disc disease in my cervical spine. Next week my ortho is going to put me under, manipulate the shoulder and do cortisone shots. Hopefully it will help. Thanks for the response. So nice to know I’m not alone in this journey. Will keep you updated.
All the best with the procedure on your shoulder… I sure hope you find it helpful… I was fortunate that mine did eventually clear up pretty much all by itself, but they are pretty rough to put up with for that long.
Do let us know how it all goes for you!!! Thinking of you and sending big hugs!!