Question
Hi I participate in the SCA which is a medieval fighting reenactment group. A couple months ago at a practice I was on my knees while an opponent was attacking me. I had my arms above my head to defend against their attack. They happened to swing under my sword which was in my right arm and came up under my arm right under my arm pit. I didn't feel any immediate pain but a few days later noticed that it started swelling and then started to hurt immensely. My right deltoid seems to be really swollen. I have tried several different exercises to help it and they seem to help a little for a short period of time but then it just comes back again. Some times I will be without pain for almost a month and then out of the blue without doing anything to it, it will start hurting again. It gets to the point sometimes where I cant lift it past pectoral muscles..and even moving my arm from keyboard to mouse is difficult without picking it up with my left arm. My right deltoid/shoulder blade area is swollen to about 2 1/2 - 3 times the size of my left shoulder. Do you have any idea what is wrong with it and what I have to do to heal it.

Thanks
Geoffrey

Answer
I would recommend an MRI of the shoulder for evaluation to rule out a tear or other pathology. It can be a combination of bursitis/tendonitis of the shoulder, but first rule out any tears of the rotator cuff or injury to the joint capsule. I treat the shoulder with physical therapy modalities and exercises, if the condition persists or we find a tear, I also have an orthopedic surgeon evaluate for an injection or surgical repair. I would suggest that you see an ortho surgeon first.