Question
I am in reasonably good shape. 40 years old.
I first noticed the pain in my shoulder in the middle of the night sleeping on my left shoulder. The pain starts on the left side of the spinal column about 3 inches below the neck. The pain radiates to the left side of my body just under the trapezius muscle and down into the rear of my deltoid. The pain is excruciating 5 different times a day and bearable the rest of the day. I have used ice, heat, IcyHot?..and all work to help temporarily. This has been going on two weeks and has not gotten any better. I can lift my left arm up but anything above perpendicular to the ground gets iffy. It is getting weaker. When my arm hangs it really irritates the pain in the neck/deltoid. A sling or arm rest seems to help greatly. Any ideas what I should do to help? or what I possibly have? I will probably go to my doctor this week if it doesn't get any better. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Steve

Answer
Steve,

I highly suggest you go to your doctor since you are already contemplating this idea. I would suggest going to a Chiropractor in your area as you have either a pinched nerve in your neck or  rotator cuff issues. You can actually have one of these or both at the same time.
Until you get to your MD or DC I suggest you use Ice rather than heat and you should place the ice over  the affected area and leave it on for only 10 minutes and then remove the ice for 10 minutes and then replace the ice for a final 10 minutes. This 10/10/10 is one cycle. So it is better to perform several cycles rather than doing marathon ice sessions. Remember this will not correct your problem and you should see a MD or DC as soon as you can. Also heat is not to be used at this point.

Good luck with your health issues and concerns and I sincerely hope this information helps you to make your healthcare decisions. Please re-submit any further questions you might have.

Sincerely,
Dr John Quackenbush
www.drqdc.com
www.myphoenixchiropractor4.me