Unable to lift shoulder/arm forwards
I fell off a horse yesterday and wrenched my arm upwards & landed on my shoulder.
I now cannot lift my arm forwards & and only slightly to the side, and cannot lift my arm above the shoulder.
I have previously broken my collarbone, but it dosen't feel like that, more of a sharp shooting pain and almost feels "stuck" when i try to move it. Low grade pain is constant all the time.
I find it difficult to lift items up with arm extended.
Any ideas what I have done? And ways of treating?
Re: Unable to lift shoulder/arm forwards
Hi there,
Im not a physio or doctor, but i had something similar happen to me last year when i slept on my side, with my arm extended above my head and slightly twisted. I couldnt lift my arm to the side, above my head, or in front. Turning the arm or wrist, like when twisting a door handle, was extremely difficult. I finally had an ultrasound a few months ago and have been diagnosed with a partial tendon tear in the
rotator cuff affecting the bicep long head. Ive also got inflammation in the entire sholder area.
I started physio about a month ago, twice a week. Its been slow and have gone back a few steps already for no apparent reason. Ive also been told Im losing stability in the anterior shoulder and its affecting my neck as well. Im doing pilates and light strengthening exercises with the band to try and coax it along.
I would try and get that seen to asap as it could be worse than a partial tear and either way, you'll need some help to get it mobile again and heal the area.
Good luck.
Re: Unable to lift shoulder/arm forwards
You should get to a doctor to make sure you haven't fractured or displaced anything. Then a good physio assessment to figure out what happened.
Re: Unable to lift shoulder/arm forwards
I adviced you to go to a doctor have a radiographic examination on the shoulder better if its an
MRI and see how it goes from there for the mean time if it is within the 3 days of injury kindly apply a ice massage do this until the part that you are massaging is numbed do it 2x a day for 15 minutes. It is outside the 3day period you can do hot compress for 15 minutes on the affected shoulder. Let us know whats your progression.
Re: Unable to lift shoulder/arm forwards
I agree that you should first of all get plain x-rays to check for a fracture or subluxation. Then post those here and let us know how you get on.