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Shoulder pain

H

Hiawatha922

Peer Supporter
About three months ago, I started developing a bit of right shoulder pain. I would notice the pain only when I reached behind me, like reaching into the back seat of my car. I'm not aware of any sort of injury that prompted the pain to begin. Over time, the pain increased a bit. I saw my doctor and he ordered an x-ray. The x-ray was normal so he referred me to physical therapy. I've been doing physical therapy for about five weeks with no improvement. There is slightly less pain on days when I'm not doing any physical movement. Today, the shoulder seems quite tight. I can hold my arm out in front of me and reach overhead, but I struggle to put on my shirt or my belt. The pain becomes quite severe with particular movements.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to see an orthopedic doctor. I saw this same doctor about a year ago for golfer's elbow, again on the right side. He gave me a brace/sleeve to wear at night for the golfer's elbow and over a period of time, the pain went away.

I'm aware that TMS is likely causing these symptoms but I want to rule out anything else.

I've been wondering about engaging in typical physical activities that I've done in the past. For example, I was doing yoga once or twice a week but since the symptoms started, I've cut back or, at times, cut out the yoga altogether. I find it quite painful to move into certain postures.

Any suggestions on how far to challenge the symptoms? I've heard some people say to take time off to rest the area, and others encourage pushing forward. Any thoughts about this?
 
I just got back from physical therapy. My therapist mentioned my range of motion has decreased over the past several weeks. She believes it is something called "frozen shoulder". She said it can take a year or more to resolve. It's interesting though, she mentioned activity won't cause damage, although it may hurt. Sounds quite similar to TMS.
 
before COVID I worked with a personal trainer for about ten years, starting when I was 59 (also a year "before Sarno"). She really pushed me to exceed what I thought were my limits, and I often experienced pain, but most of the time (especially "after Sarno) I talked myself through it, by visualizing my muscles getting stronger as a result. Every once in a while I would experience a pain that alarmed me, so she would check my posture or grip or whatever and make adjustments, or maybe give me a lighter weight until I could do the exercise without that "scary" level of pain.

In all those years, I never experienced any kind of injury, nor did I ever go home with any lingering pain - inho, because I did not expect to have it.

After my RA diagnosis in 2020, I was quite afraid of stressing my hands/wrists/fingers during all kinds of exercise, and when I took up yoga again about a year after the shutdown, they were were pretty painful in certain yoga poses, so I've been adjusting (DD on a chair, for example, or plank on my elbows) but I'm starting to regain confidence again and do the full poses in spite of the fact that I still have residual pain. The thing is, I have not experienced any increase in pain after any class, even recently - again, in imho, because my TMS brain knows better than to try to get me to even think about it once class is over.

This is a very individual experience, which absolutely involves trusting your instincts and having faith in the process. One good question to always ask yourself, is: what is the worst that can happen?

What is the worst that can happen if you work through the pain with visualization and intent that you are getting stronger, and with faith that experiencing pain afterwards is completely unnecessary? You've already learned that you can't cause damage, so what the heck? What you want to do is train your brain into accepting a brief amount of pain without fear, and to forget about any possibility of experiencing pain later on.

Works for me, has worked for me since 2010, and I'm 72 now.
 
Hiawatha922 said:
About three months ago, I started developing a bit of right shoulder pain. I would notice the pain only when I reached behind me, like reaching into the back seat of my car. I'm not aware of any sort of injury that prompted the pain to begin. Over time, the pain increased a bit. I saw my doctor and he ordered an x-ray. The x-ray was normal so he referred me to physical therapy. I've been doing physical therapy for about five weeks with no improvement. There is slightly less pain on days when I'm not doing any physical movement. Today, the shoulder seems quite tight. I can hold my arm out in front of me and reach overhead, but I struggle to put on my shirt or my belt. The pain becomes quite severe with particular movements.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to see an orthopedic doctor. I saw this same doctor about a year ago for golfer's elbow, again on the right side. He gave me a brace/sleeve to wear at night for the golfer's elbow and over a period of time, the pain went away.

I'm aware that TMS is likely causing these symptoms but I want to rule out anything else.

I've been wondering about engaging in typical physical activities that I've done in the past. For example, I was doing yoga once or twice a week but since the symptoms started, I've cut back or, at times, cut out the yoga altogether. I find it quite painful to move into certain postures.

Any suggestions on how far to challenge the symptoms? I've heard some people say to take time off to rest the area, and others encourage pushing forward. Any thoughts about this?
Click to expand...

I think you know the answers but your TMS brain is looking for a different answer. You started paying attention to that pain when it was light and ..well...normal...and the pain grew from there. You went to the doctors seeking answers. Physical therapy. All telling your brain, "See, there is something wrong!" You've cut back on the yoga. Your brain is learning...."aha! we know how to keep her down!" says it.

You have confirmation that the exercise and movement won't make things worse so it's time to set aside any thinking about it. At most maybe say, "Hello!" when you feel it and then don't give it the time of day. And do some thinking and/or writing about what feelings/emotions might be bubbling below the surface for it to come up and want to distract you or keep you down at this particular time.
 
Thank you Cactusflower and JanAtheCPA! I appreciate your thoughts on this.

I know the last two years has also involved a lot of change for me. Divorce, moving, new job, etc. All in the midst of COVID too.

I understand the concept behind subconscious rage but I will say, in addition to the changes I mentioned, what makes me angry are physical limitations. I suppose there is some fear associated with symptoms but definitely anger as well.
 
Thank you, Booble.

This afternoon, I was also thinking about other times in my life when I had unexplained symptoms, and they went away pretty quickly. Many years ago, I remember working out with weights. Immediately after the workout, I developed sharp pain in my triceps. However, the next day the pain was gone. Not a gradual diminishment (as sometimes happens with a rigorous workout) but completely gone. Interesting how TMS works.
 
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