Question
In the past three years I have had pain in the bak of my left shoulder.  I went to a chirporacter and now I have pain in my left hip and I still have pain in by shoulder.  I have to tighten my hip to fell better.  And my shoulder has a crackling sound when I make a circle with my arm.  What should I do and what is the medical term for a shoulder specialist or a  hip specialist.  I should also mention that I went to a orthopedic and they basically sent me to a phyiscall therpaost, which I tried and it did no good.  Where should I go from here and what is the name of a hip and shoulder specialist?  Thank you  

Answer
Dear Kays,

You have basically hit the "experts" when it comes to hip and shoulder problems.  The chiropractic physician is the premier musculoskeletal joint specialist.  The orthopedist is the premier joint and bone specialist when the problem is beyond the scope of the chiropractic physician and may need injections or surgery. The physical therapist is the subordinate of the orthopedist and generally carry out rehabilitation protocols under the doctors orders as they have no training in diagnosis and are not primary care specialists.

What I fail to see hear is if you have actually been given any diagnosis of the problems you are complaining of.  It sounds to me that you need to continue with rehabilitation protocols for the hip and shoulder, but they should be specifically directed to the diagnostic opinion at each joint.  From what you have described the hip problem seems to be more of a functional imbalance concerning the condition of the muscle system and stability.  The shoulder on the other hand has some adhesions/scar formation or cartilage degeneration which accounts for the crackling sound (crepitus) with movements.  It is likely that you need stability here as well because the shoulder joint is inherently unstable to allow for the great range of motion, but the extent of injury needs to be documented appropriately with a functional examination of the joints in questions and possible imaging to include MRI if indicated.

I would suggest that you do some research and find a better qualified chiropractic physician in your area to address the joint appropriately and the soft tissue as well.  Chiropractors that have advanced training in orthopedics, sports injury, or soft tissue rehab are the best choices.  Some chiropractors without this advanced training do not address anything but the spine which will not take care of the problem.  I an going to list a few credentialing organizations for you to check out and all of them have referral directories to doctors who have trained through their respective programs.  

www.acbsp.com
www.activerelease.com
www.grastontechnique.com
www.abconet.org

Respectfully,
Dr. J. Shawn Leatherman
www.suncoasthealthcare.net