Question
QUESTION: We are refinishing our hardwood floors.  I had been vacuuming and then I was washing a small area.  I stood and rinsed the rag and was wringing it out.  When I twisted the rag, I got a severe, sharp pain in my right shoulder.  The pain radiated down my outer arm to the elbow.  Any type of movement was extremely painful.  Went to the clinic.  Xrays normal. Given morphine and a sling for my arm.  I can now move it above my head, in a swinging motion, and if I move it slowly and carefully, across my body back and front.  The pain is still on the front, just below the top of the shoulder.  Right where the head of the arm goes in the socket. Where the cartilage is in the socket, I think.  Last night the pain was 10 and then 5 after morphine.  Today it is about a 2. Dr thought Bursitis.  Do you think that is correct? Said to use the sling 3 to 5 days.  Any other advise?  I'm thinking probably a tear. Exercises?

ANSWER: Hello Victoria,

I'm hopeful that I can help you with your issue.  It sounds to me like you may just have some tight/inflamed tissue from refinishing your floors and all that it entails.

If you take a moment to understand that most chronic joint pain is caused by the shortening and tightening of tissue around joints, and that repetitive motions such as would be involved in doing floors will tighten tissue (especially if those muscles are not accustomed to doing such work), then you can understand that releasing the tight tissue that is negatively affecting the joint (or bursa) will most likely fix or at least help the area to recover.

I explain all of this on the homepage of my completely free Do-It-Yourself-Joint-Pain-Relief website,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/
if you are interested in a more detailed explanation.

I'd recommend that you visit my Frozen Shoulder page,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/frozen-shoulder-exercises-and-tr
because of the way you describe your symptoms.  It covers a lot more than my main
Shoulder Joint Pain Relief page,
http://www.do-it-yourself-joint-pain-relief.com/shoulder-joint-pain-relief.html
which you are also welcome to try, but I think from the floor work you described and the way
the final twist of the rag seemed to trigger your pain that the Frozen Shoulder videos will most likely
serve you best.  Either way, just follow along with the videos and odds are you will feel a lot better.

I do hope this proves helpful.

All the best,
Gary Crowley

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I went to your shoulder joint pain page.  I started with the first video, about press and hold technique.  When I moved my arm, I felt popping.  Not painful, but definitely popping.  Would this change the diagnosis of bursitis?  Just keep doing the exercises you show?
Thanks for the help
Victoria

Answer
Hello Victoria,

The 損opping?just means the joint needs more space and freedom to function smoothly.  So just keep releasing tight tissue and you should get to the place where there is no (or at least a lot less) popping.  揃ursitis?is just short tight tissue compressing a bursa sac, so it抯 really no different than a joint 搃tis.? "Itis" is just Latin for inflammation.

Hope  that helps.

Best,

Gary C.