Shoulder Injuries/Conditions - Shoulder Tendonitis?

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Shoulder Tendonitis?

Printed From: CyberPT - Your Online Physical Therapy Resource
Category: Patient Forum
Forum Name: Shoulder Injuries/Conditions
Forum Description: Patients can post questions and experiences about shoulder injuries/conditions.
URL: http://www.cyberpt.com/ptforum/forum_posts.asp?TID=383
Printed Date: Feb 16 2025 at 8:13am
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Topic: Shoulder Tendonitis?

Posted By: emorgan9
Subject: Shoulder Tendonitis?
Date Posted: Mar 14 2009 at 2:32am

A few weeks ago I injured my shoulder doing some bench press. It never really hurt but just became very weak and uncomfortable. If I used it for anything practical a slight burning sensation made me stop. Ive been resting it for over three weeks now and the burning is almost completely gone but the shoulder is still very weak which keeps me from using it because when I try to it isn't very comfortable. I have a full range of motion but the time it is taking to improve is very frustrating. I cant go to a doctor really cause I don't have substantial health insurance and I dont speak japanese (ive been in japan for a year) well enough to communicate this type of thing. Does it sound like typical tendonitis? This extroridinarily slow healing process?

Replies:

Posted By: PT Guy
Date Posted: Mar 16 2009 at 10:59am

Hello- Tendonitis usually involves inflammation of the tendon. In your case you report no ocurrence of pain and only a slight sensation of burning accompanied by shoulder weakness. This does not sound like tendonitis to me. Sounds more like a muscle strain where you could have some burning sensation along with some weakness. Do you have tenderness when you palpate any portion of your shoulder and what movement or activities causes you to experience the uncomfortable sensation?

Posted By: emorgan9
Date Posted: Mar 17 2009 at 5:41am

when I ride my bike and run for cardio my shoulder feels fine, short motions without raising my arms are fine more or less but Im a surfer and that just doesn't fly for me. any movement which involves raising my arm causes the discomfort and the shoulder just immediately feels dramatically weaker. Again I have a full range of motion but after a few moment of moving it around there isn't necissarily a pain but just a discomfort and the urge to stop moving it entirely. I know, its difficult to explain. Ive been stretching, and icing several times daily which makes it feel better immediatly but i cant seem to shake the problem in the long run (relative long run).

Posted By: PT Guy
Date Posted: Mar 19 2009 at 9:27am

Does raising your arm straight in front of you (flexion) or to the side (abduction) result in the sensation of weakness? If your shoulder is feeling weak you might want to try strengthening with light weight in a gravity minimized position such as on your back for shoulder flexion and abduction.

Posted By: emorgan9
Date Posted: Mar 19 2009 at 6:16pm

That is when it feels most weak. It has been 4 weeks now since the initial injury and while I can feel a difference from week to week the day to day improvement is minimal. Very frustrating. Ive been doing light exercises like you've described with a water bottle but I'm terrified of making the shoulder worse so I keep far away from pushing myself. In the mornings my shoulder feels restless and and throughout most of the day. Is there really anything else I can do besides wait for it to get better while I stretch and do those exercises?

Posted By: PT Guy
Date Posted: Mar 23 2009 at 9:34am

Although improvement may be slow, you are doing the right thing by performing light exercises. You could try a hotpack to the area before you exercise. The heat helps with relaxing your muscles, vasoldilates (helps with bringing more blood flow to the area- in blood more nutrients and O2), and assists with making the tissue more pliable with stretching. If you had access to PT in the states, physical therapists could also perform manual therapy activities and utilize modalities as well.