Shoulder Clunk

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and wondered if you could possibly offer me some advice.

About 4 weeks ago I was ten pin bowling and was bowling the balls quite fast (Being a bit silly really! after a few beers too many).

Anyway the next day I woke up with severe pain in my shoulder. I thought I had just pulled a muscle and continued to get on with my life for the next week. The pain eased off but after a session mowing the grass in the garden it came back worse than before. I decided to visit my GP who advised it was most likely a pulled muscle and prescribed me some anti-inflammatory tablets and painkillers. I took these for a week and the pain slowly went away.

I have now stopped taking these and it is 4 weeks after the injury. I now only have a dull ache which is disappearing by the day but have all of a sudden developed a clunking of the shoulder which seems to happen when my arms are at rest by my side. If they move when my my side the clunk happens but only on the injured shoulder side.

Have you any ideas?

Before all this happened I was at the gym 3 times a week lifting weights but now i'm scared to go back until its fully healed incase I damage the shoulder more.

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,

Rob

Were you utilizing your arm during that 4 weeks or was it completely immobilie, apart from the mowing incident?

Are there any apparent differences between your shoulders when looking in a mirror?

Else, is there any pain on any movement?

Regards

Hi Canuck Physio,

During the 4 weeks the arm was completely mobile and most tasks that didn't involve heavy lifting were accomplished.

I have done full rotations of the shoulders and looked at them in the mirror and they both appear to look the same.

There is only a dull ache which seems to occur when lifting the arm and for a while after the clunk. Other than that just the clunking feeling.

Thankyou for taking the time to reply to my post.

Rob

Is it a clunk, or a grinding sound?

Hmmm...

It is definitely a clunk. Today the ache feels a bit like your muscles do when you've had a heavy session at the gym.

So anyone with any ideas on this?

Clunk still there but pain nearly completely gone.

Hello again, this would require specific tests. It sounds like your humerus is impacting on the glenoid labrum if it is a clunk. In that case you will probably need physiotherapy more than anything else, to both lengthen shortened tissues, and strengthen any correct any imbalances around the shoulder.

The shoulder joint is quite odd in that it is connected to many many muscles. Almost 20 muscles work together to maintain integrity and mobility at this joint. Thus, the difficulty to explain here..

Regards

Thanks for paying our attention to it and giving such a helpful information.