hi there,

I'm in austalia and from Canberra. I have only started to see a sports doc in sydney who is known to be specialised in shoulders but my physio works at the AIS and is fantastic. The initial tests were also done in Canberra and the Wikipedia reference-linkMRI came back with nothing.

The program is working well to a certain extend. I think that I have a number of things going including very weak Wikipedia reference-linkrotator cuff muscles, slight scapula dumping of the right shoulder and have first and second rib dysfunction, and a tight neck, so I have been working with my physio to address this. I read the shoulder instability exercises which said that it was important to also look at core stability, and posture with unstable shoulders and this is only something that I am starting to work on (like in the past 2 weeks).

I have to say that my shoulder does feel better than 7 months ago and I have gained some strength back in the deltoids which were very weak to start with. I think I am getting better but it's very slow. I was told that I should at least try conservative treatment at minimum for 12 months and my sports doc is not convinced that surgery for a possible SLAP will be of any much benefit for me. It is something however which I will consider as a last resort.

The pain is in the front of the shoulder and it seems to flare when my shoulder has been pulled or is aggrevated. Sometimes it also feels like my shoulder clicks in and out, almost like it is subluxing.

As for the rotator cuff tear, it was only suspected and that was a dance related injury which I sustained in 2005.

I am thinking that hydro may also be of some help to help push me to the next level. What are your thoughts on this?

I'm also going to get an ultrasound done next week to see if there is fluid in the biceps tendon because that is where I am getting the pain. the thing is after a couple of weeks of acupuncture treatment my shoulder feels so much better and I just think that it's too good to even think about getting a cortisone injection unless there is clinical evidence to support it.

thanks for you response too.