Question
Hi I'm a 23 year old female and I have a very painful left shoulder. I was in a car accident, it wasn't my fault and I was the driver with my seatbelt on. The other car pulled out infront of me and I hit the side of the other car. The accident was 2nd of December 2010. Over 3 years ago. As I have been to loads of different doctors and got scans and mri scans done, I was told it is nerve damage in my left shoulder. I have already got 2 steroid injections in march this year which have made it worse. I am waiting on 2 more as requested by my doctor. If the injections don't help this time I will have to go to surgery. I have been told that my left shoulder will never be right again as I have lost feeling and power in my whole arm. It is painful 24 7.

I also lost my job a year and a half ago because I wasn't fit to work with my arm. Since then unable to get work with my shoulder pain.

I am looking to know your opinion on this? And would my injury affect me to work again?

thank you

Answer
Dear Paula,

I am sorry about your pain and injury. It sounds like it has caused you a lot of trouble, and for that, I am truly sorry.  The difficulty with trying to give you any advise is that even though you  have done your best to describe your injury to me, from a medical stand point, there is so little information for me to go on here.  I am unsure as to where and what nerves are damaged, for example.  I am also completely in the dark as the nature and location of the steroid injections, and what type of surgery is being recommended.

I do know that nerve damage can be debilitating and long term, depending of course on the true location and the extent of damage.  

If you would like a better opinion, then a copy of the MRI report would be essential. You should also ask for a true diagnosis ("nerve damage in my left shoulder" is not a true diagnosis. I understand that it is what you were told, but to a physician, it is not descriptive enough. There are so many different nerves and so many reasons as to why a nerve could be injured, compressed, facilitated, etc...  Some nerves in the neck, when damaged, could also cause shoulder and arm weakness, for example.  And what kind of damage has the nerves sustained... and caused by what compressive mechanism?)

The good news is that many people work through significantly more devastating injuries. Even if you completely lost the arm to amputation, you should be able to obtain work.  I am not saying that the disability would not be challenging, but it is not insurmountable.

God bless you, and good luck with your injury. Listen to your doctors and ask THEM questions. They have so much more detail to go on than I do.

Keith Biggs, DC