Bilateral bicepital tendinitis

[northgolf]

Anyone here gone through this? A sedentary winter and turning sixty and now I can barely lift my arms above my shoulders without pain. By pain, I mean 8 on a scale of 10 where 10 is kidney stones with renal failure.

If you have been through this, did you get out by exercise, steroids shots and rehab, or did it take arthroscopic and rehab? If excercises, what were they.

I have noticed a little improvement with rom excercises, but the improvement is very slow.

[Soloman1]

Shoulders are complex with more muscles involved in movement than other joints. Surgeons will say you need to be cut and 99/100 MD's aren't really trained in pain relief, other than give you injections, which only mask the pain and never are the cure. Non-invasive treatment of myofacial release through massage and microcurrent will usually get you better results faster.

[Fuscinator]

I started doing daily dead-hangs in December 2018 and my shoulders feel better than they ever have. About the same time, I came across a book on the subject by an orthopedic surgeon who had stopped doing shoulder surgeries in favor of prescribing dead-hangs to all his patients, and this would be for a wide variety of issues (torn rotator cuffs, 'frozen shoulder', impingements, etc.). I've had great improvement in both shoulders with different problems. I had an impingement in my right shoulder which led to a bone spur, and as one PT put it, my left arm sits in my shoulder like a drunk in a car accident. So, for me, opposite problems improved by the same treatment. Here's a link to the book - https://www.amazon.com/Shoulder-Pain-Solution-Prevention-Expanded-ebook/dp/B082QQL8V5/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=shoulder+pain+kirsch&qid=1587044656&sr=8-3

Good luck.

[vinprun71]

I had a less severe case of this over a year ago. It was pretty painful to say the least. I wasn't at the point of needing surgery, but if I played 18, my shoulder was so numb. It felt like someone ripped it off me by the end of the round. I was given two cortisone shots in my right shoulder (lefty swinger here, so this is my lead shoulder). I tried not to swing a club for a couple of months and did a few light PT exercises at home daily that a PT friend of mine gave me. I also rubbed Bengay on it twice a day. I also iced it frequently and took Ibuprofen as needed. Long term, it helped. I was playing a lot of golf and had some issues with my swing that started this whole issue. As I took care of the shoulder and improved my swing, things got better. I wish you lots of luck. Shoulder pain, next to wrist pain, in golf are tough to work through and very discouraging.

[northgolf]

Thank you for the replies. @Soloman1 non-intrusive is my prefered solution. Unfortunately, covid-19 is peaking in my home town right now (1.5% of pop has tested positive) so massage and current won't happen any time soon.@Fuscinator I can't do a dead hang right now without agony. Maybe after I get past the acute phase. I will check out that book.@vinprun71 I have been doing pretty much what you did with some success. Pain in the right shoulder is way down from peak and the left shoulder is a tiny bit better. Not playing golf is easy as all the courses and ranges in the area are closed (though I wouldn't play otherwise, I am mentally closed to the concept of playing through pain).

[vinprun71]

Another thing you may want to consider is getting a percussion gun to work the muscle out a little bit. I just ordered one for my wife's back issues. I may give it a try on my shoulder as well. I'll circle back if I find any magic there.

[Coy M]

I've had shoulder issues and bicep pain, doing bicep specific physio did nothing for me. When i focused more on a shoulder impingement based physio plan I had a lot of relief. If the humeral head is high and forward in the socket there can be a a lot of pressure on the long head bicep tendon, if you don't create more space and give that tendon some relief it will not go away. There are physical therapist that will do video evaluations and prescribe rehab plans online, I recommend this right now if you cannot see someone in person.

[Nrutledge]

I understand where you are coming from. Mine got so bad I couldn’t fully extend my right arm. Went to PT and not much changed. A friend gave me his percussion massager (Tim Tam) to use. Did it once a day every day followed by ice and nsaids. Within 2 weeks I was able to straighten my arm without pain. I bought my own. I still use it regularly, not just on my bicep, but quads, calves, forearms, and hamstrings. I love the thing. I have the first gen gun which is really loud. The newer ones are much quieter. Good luck!

[northgolf]

Doing some basic strengthening exercises for my shoulders has been helping. My range of motion without pain is getting slowly better.

 

For kicks, I tried a dead hang. 15 minutes later my 6 yo asked:"Daddy, why are you lying on the floor whimpering?".

[vinprun71]

Circling back on my earlier post about using a percussion gun on the shoulder. If you target the front or back of the shoulder (wherever you have your pain), it definitely feels good to massage deep tissue. The gun shouldn't be used on bone, so you'd want to stay away from the head of the shoulder, but targeting the thick areas around it feels great.

[Fuscinator]

How'd it feel later (an hour, or so)? Better, worse, or the same?

[northgolf]

An hour later, it pretty much felt the same.

The exercises I am doing are not pain free as I increase the range of motion. Over time, I am increasing the pain free ROM. I am working on strengthening and stabilizing the shoulder while slowly increasing range.

Once I am back to normal, I expect to be able to do dead hangs without pain and that they will be beneficial, I am just not there yet. At the pace I am going, I expect that will be another 3 or 4 weeks, maybe 6.

[northgolf]

I am beginning to believe my doctor diagnosed a symptom and not the cause. I am coming to believe it is cervical radiculopathy. I am learning McKenzie and will see if that works. Initial results are promising.

[northgolf]

What a frustrating start to the year.

Definitely pinched nerves at c7 AND frozen shoulder.The physical therapist Robin McKenzie has written about both of these and when I check medical sites, there you find his excercises.

Surprisingly, the pain relief for the pinched nerves is fairly quick and I am making good progress between improving my posture and doing excercises. At the rate things are going, I will be done with that pain in a couple more weeks, 3 tops.

The frozen shoulder is a different kettle of fish. I looked at the prognosis for this and the first stage is a pain stage that lasts 3 to 9 months, which is followed by a restricted movement phase that can last another year, then a resolution phase that can be another 6 to 12 months. Unacceptable.

McKenzie has exercises for frozen shoulder and they are all centered on increasing the range of motion. You do the movements right up to the edge of pain with the aim of gradually increasing how far you can move without pain. Even in his book, the discussion is months, not weeks.

I tried taking a backswing this past week. P3 was beyond my pain tolerance. I set up my dart board and tried throwing- missed the board entirely as my arm just won't move that way.

Waking up each morning goes: hello pain, excercises to loosen the pain points, then excercises to the edge of pain, sit properly, repeat every 90 minutes. I hope I can swing by July.

Both the frozen shoulder and pinched nerves can pretty much be written down to having spent the winter sedentary on a sofa reading and not moving. Repetitive idleness syndrome, as it were. Use it or lose it and I have lost it.

I turned 60 last November. This is the worst, not my game going bad, just having no game at all.

[BirdieDoc]

If the exercises are too painful that would be an indication for an injection. How do you know you have pinched nerves? Bilateral cervical spine root impingement would be rare to just show up. Did you get an emg or MRI?

 

Shoulders are no joke. Moving, stretching, and strengthening are key. Frozen shoulders are more likely in diabetics and thyroid issues as well. Good sign from here on out is testing external rotation for the frozen shoulder. Typically the capsule inflammation will prevent that motion.

 

Injections helps the pain so you can do the exercise. Could consider anesthesia and manual therapy but that's usually reserved.

[northgolf]

Hi BirdieDoc,

Thank you for the feedback. As you note, external rotation is prevented - very painful. I am a very well managed type II, so I am in the more likely group.

I have been to an ortho now and they did x-rays of both shoulders and the cervical spine.

The ortho diagnosed Frozen shoulders immediately and without hesitation. If I had any history of shoulder injury (which I don't), she would have suggested an MRI but did not feel that was necessary. Cortizone in both shoulders and PT. She did each shoulder separately a week apart and it has only been a few days since the second shoulder was done. I haven't noticed any reduction in pain in the first shoulder. From my reading on FS, the efficacy of cortizone is questionable especially in the pain phase of FS. The PT is having me do ROM exercises. What she has added are ways of extending the ROM while keeping the arm muscles relaxed - these are very effective.

I also have tingling in along the pinkies and that side of both hands. I have been attributing this to C7. The Dr. had IMG done on both arms and it found nothing: the nerves in my extremities are fine and healthy. I have been doing Robin MacKenzie's exercises for cervical spine issues and that does resolve the tingling. I am seeing a hand specialist next week to start tracking the Duypuytren's contracture in my left hand, maybe he can address the tingling. Right now, the PT is having me do exercises to address upper body posture for neck and spine (forward head, rounded shoulders bad).

Golf season is most likely over for me this year. Even just chipping is quite painful. The Dr. doesn't want to give me a time frame for this to resolve, but I did get "think in months not weeks" out of her.

Again, thank you for the feedback.