Have been really busy cleaning house for a few days. Yesterday one shoulder started to really hurt and by last night both were very painful to yhe point I can’t get dressed or undressed, lift arms, get up etc etc. went to clinic and he x-rayed but couldn’t see anything. Thinks it’s probably not arthritis - tendons? Tear?
I hope that’s right but am unsure whether to contact rheumy just in case! So far I’ve been referred for physio on Friday - pain is about an 8 out of 10!!
Any ideas?
In had tendonitis in my shoulders in the past from over doing cleaning. Mainly from mopping with a heavy cotton mop head ( you know the old bucket wringer type). It sounds just the same couldn’t lift my arms pain radiated to chest and upper back very painful!! I found a lighter mop and spreading out the work helped. I was a far cry from PSA then so I would let rheumy know by phone just in case. What I have learned is that when we damage a joint the healing with PSA is different and our bodies can start attacking them when we should be healing. Hopefully you will feel better soon . I was younger then but it still took weeks and if you have a tear verses tendonitis you have to be more careful. At least you have a clean house to relax in for awhile.
Thanks Rachael for putting my mind at rest. I knew I was doing too much (we had an open house) so lesson learned! My daughter had to take a day off school to help me but can do nothing else but take it easy now as can barely move and cannot put coat on (and it’s freezing outside).
If only house was still tidy! Have had to refuse a visit for later in week as cannot even make a bed and hubby’s working away from Wednesday - happy days!
Thanks again for experience …
I get inflammation in my neck and shoulders to the point where it's incredibly painful and I can't lift my arms up. I actually blogged about it today! LOL http://rannygahoots.blogspot.com/2015/01/return-of-trex-arms.html
What helps me is getting the swelling down, which means a prednisone burst (I can't take NSAIDs) ... and rest... and it takes a few days. I've found that heat between the shoulder blades works wonders.
I hope you're feeling better soon!
It could also be subacromial bursitis. This also goes hand-in-hand with tendonitis and PsA in the shoulder it seems. Check it out on google to see if the location/type of the pain fits. Icing works really well to ease the immediate discomfort.
When mine got really bad it was only an ultrasound guided steroid injection into the bursa that settled it down. Now I'm aware that too much movement or load-bearing will set it off so I try to work within my limits as much as possible ..... most days it is a low level grumble.
Hope it feels better for you soon.
Yeah, an x-ray of a shoulder wouldn't say much, as they don't show soft tissue and that's where shoulder problems usually live.
I've has shoulder pain for probably +/- 10 years. One thing that really aggravated it was washing walls, scrubbing the tile in the shower, etc. Anything at shoulder level or higher, taking some muscle. You don't realize how much you use your shoulders until you can't.
It's hard to tell what's what when it's inside, but I try to avoid overdoing (like lifting furniture type stuff) at this point because I don't want to send word to my immune system that there's an issue, if that makes sense. I know that with skin involvement, injury can cause a localized flare, and I am pretty sure that the joint/tendon involvement follows a similar pattern.
Thanks all - I would really like an MRI to see exactly what’s going on with it!!
Can’t take prednisone or NSAIDs so screwed on that front! I know I did way too much so lesson learned for now. Will see physio on Friday and see what they think. For now I am reliant on others to dress me , get me out of bed etc so taking it easy watching movies… Don’t mind today as it is freezing outside but hair is filthy and nobody wants to wash it for me!!!
Oh yeah, that sounds like PsA pain to me. I pointed out the sore areas to my rheumy. They felt even more sore inside if I pressed on them--are you talking about the area just inside your shoulder below your clavicle? Yuck, mine were sore all of the time for a couple years before I started Enbrel. It made me feel weak--it's really quite the same as the tendonitis we get in our wrists, ankles and feet. I don't remember offhand, Golfnut, are you on a biologic? I haven't been on many meds, but maybe nsaids would help the inflammation.