Question
my problem started after i gave birth to daughter in 69 and i am now 56 and as time goes on the problem seems to get worse. i don't know if it has anything to do w/lower back.
in my early 20's i started have continous burning pain in the top of my shoulder, every time i moved my arm the shoulder would scream with more pain. as time went on, sometimes; when i would start to turn my neck a hot searing stabbing pain would come up the back of neck go up the head and felt like it was come out the crown of head. oh my goodness you have no idea what that pain is like. the stabing pain would only last for a couple minutes, but lord did it hurt. i saw a regular md for a few years and was in hospital getting rest w/hot and cold treatments & all kinds of drugs for a couple of years. diagnosis was strained muscles & ligaments. it was a temporary help for the moment.
i soon turned to the chiropractor to be told that my neck is like a stick w/no curve. all my life i have gone to chiro and they only helped me temporarily.
now i have no job, no health insurance, and now my arm is add to the problem. no burning in the shoulder for now, but do have soreness on top of shoulder, have aching sometimes in the arm, the armpit swells and i have pain with tenicals going down the inside of arm frm armpit to elbow, elbow to wrist feels strained sometimes the wrist looks as if the tendons or ligaments are standing up in the large vein area @ wrist. the whole arm is weak. the muscle around the shoulder, underarm, & chest is so tight that it hurts to be touched. i don't know what to do....everything seems to bother my back somehow, even the lower back aches.
i was diagnosed 2006 w/lymphedema in the same arm. i need to get my disability but don't know how to go about it w/no regular dr. diagnostic cervical & spine xray shows nothing.
i sure would like to know what is wrong w/my shoulder, neck and now the arm as well. i have the lymphedema in control so i don't think is adding to the problem. sometimes when trying to do house work the armpit swells so much my arm feels strangulated and it feels like a pinch in farther backside of armpit. i would truly appreciate any insight you might have into this matter.
thank you & GOD BLESS!
judy in germantown, md


Answer
Hi judy,

I am sorry that you have gone through so much.  You know from very personal experience that there aren't any magic fixes out there.  And my advice from afar is limited.

I don't have any diagnostic information to help with a precise opinion.  Some aspects are extremely chronic.  The acute stuff (lymphedema) is nearly always a manifestation of the chronic.

I understand that your funds are limited so we'll leave the chiropractic and massage for future reference.  You know that they can help even if they can't cure.

Hopefully you are doing some regular stretching and posture work to maintain mobility and blood/lymphatic flow.  Posture and activity habits greatly influence all of your symptoms.

There are all kinds of useful exercises.  This one I find hugely helpful but often ignored.  It's hard to describe without pictures but...

Roll a towel up into a tube.  Put it on the floor and lay on it longways, right on your upper spine.  From the base of your neck and down.  Let your spine stretch over, your ribs around and your shoulders up and back over the towel.  Relax 3-4 minutes.

It's a great stretch and molds you the opposite of the hunching we usually do.

Hope this helps a bit.