Screwed up my left shoulder, need advice

[Kraken]

Bench pressing last Tuesday, I put a new high on the bar planning to do 3x5. First set went well. Second set I only got 4 reps. Third set, on the fourth rep, felt pain in my shoulder. After that, I could barely press just the bar. Tuesday night I could barely left my arm and certain movements hurt. Later I noticed a huge hematoma above my left tricep.

So I guess I screwed it up pretty good. I realize I should go to the doctor, but my health plan is so poor it will cost a fortune. I think I'll give it a few more days. How long would something like that take to heal, and do I have to completely avoid any lifting in the meantime?

What can I do in the meantime? I assume squats are still okay, and maybe deadlifts?

 

[Send0]

I know someone commented on the "bruises", but getting hematomas from lifting is not atypical or normal. Especially at the rate you seem to be getting them.

I don't know what's wrong with your shoulder. I can tell you when I hurt my shoulder I had no hematoma, and it took well over a year to heal. It was so bad that grabbing a 2 liter of anything out of the refrigerator would floor me because the pain was very intense. I made it worse by continuing trying to do pressing movements, even at lighter weight, when I should have just left it alone.

So you could heal in a few days, or it could take over a year like me, or it could be worse. No way of knowing at this stage. Especially without any input or diagnosis from a doctor

You can do any exercise that doesn't load up the shoulder. Rest it for a week or 2, and re-evaluate at that time.

 

[Kraken]

Hm, I need to figure out whats with all these hematomas. The left side of my body seems prone to them...

Thanks @Send0

 

[GreatGunz]

You.could of torn ur tricep/delt big bruises almost immediately

 

[Kraken]

You.could of torn ur tricep/delt big bruises almost immediately

Yup thats where the pain is. I guess the only way to know for sure is to get to a doctor. Last night I was able to dead lift with no issues at all, I was very pleasantly surprised. Today is upper day, but an unusually busy work schedule and a trip this evening have conspired to keep me out of the gym until Monday, the first gym day miss in about 15 weeks. Given my arm, maybe that's a blessing.

 

[Kraken]

Went to the GP today and he thinks it's minor and I'll be fine with a few weeks of PT, but he suggested a consult with an ortho just in case. That's tomorrow afternoon, with a sports medicine PA. He also said the hematoma is nothing to worry about at all.

So I guess I'll skip my upper day tomorrow morning and see what they say. Hopefully this is all minor like the GP said...

 

[Send0]

Went to the GP today and he thinks it's minor and I'll be fine with a few weeks of PT, but he suggested a consult with an ortho just in case. That's tomorrow afternoon, with a sports medicine PA. He also said the hematoma is nothing to worry about at all.

So I guess I'll skip my upper day tomorrow morning and see what they say. Hopefully this is all minor like the GP said...

Let us know what they say. Hope it's minor like the GP says.

 

[Kraken]

Well, I went to the orthopedic PA today, she seemed to be quite good. My regular doctor thought this shoulder injury is no big deal, but she ordered an X-Ray, reviewed it, and has a very different opinion. The X-ray showed a normal amount of arthritis, but the joint itself is in very good shape. So that's a plus. Regarding the injury, her thinking is that I tore the tendon partially apart from the bone and it will require surgery to fix. I need an MRI to be sure.

Today is the last day of open enrollment in my health plan so I just changed from the least expensive plan to the most expensive, so if I do need expensive surgery the deductible and copay will be much lower.

That won’t take effect until January 1, but I may self pay for the MRI now just to see what I’m looking at ($500 for self pay, $900 for insurance BUT its far less then my remaining deductible for 2024 so I pay all of it anyhow). If I do the MRI in January it's $900 off a $1,600 deductible so I'll just have to pay another $700 plus 10% for the surgery.

She understands about the insurance and said it's okay to wait until early January for the MRI, but wants me to do PT in the meantime. Physical therapy is actually more expensive than the imaging and won’t work if the tendon is torn.

So I'm leaning toward getting the imaging done ASAP, just to know what I'm looking at. The other option is to just go to PT once, then do the exercises myself at home or the gym, and wait until January for the MRI. I'll pay $905 for the MRI but it will eat more than have of the new $1,600 deductible which will be good if I do need surgery.

 

[Kraken]

I decided to go to PT to get an evaluation. This guy put me through a bunch of motions and such but he thinks, based on his evaluation, I have a connective tissue tear. He said I have good range of motion, and with PT he can get me to the point where I can put stuff on the top shelf and such with no pain. But he thinks to get back to heavy lifting, bicycling and sailing I may need surgery. He said an MRI is necessary.

So that will happen Dec 2nd. In the meantime I can still do lower body stuff, although he told me I should not deadlift.

I had been eating in a 200 calorie per day surplus, so I think I should reduce to maintenance for the foreseeable future, get the MRI, see the doctor and make a plan.

 

[Elivo]

An MRI is the only thing that will give you a definitive answer to what all is going on in your shoulder.

 

[Kraken]

An MRI is the only thing that will give you a definitive answer to what all is going on in your shoulder.

Yup, but even then, only if its "with contrast" which is a much more difficult scan requiring injection of dye. I'm getting it done without contrast, then a visit with the surgeon Dec 12. If I heal well in the meantime maybe it all won't be needed.

 

[Elivo]

I had both of my shoulders done without contrast and they did fine, I’ve had one with a long time ago too and I didn’t really notice a big difference in what was seen with and without . The scan itself is exactly the same other than getting a needle shoved in your shoulder and the dye injected lol.

 

[Kraken]

I had both of my shoulders done without contrast and they did fine, I’ve had one with a long time ago too and I didn’t really notice a big difference in what was seen with and without . The scan itself is exactly the same other than getting a needle shoved in your shoulder and the dye injected lol.

Well the physical therapist explained that in the ball joint, there is a substance (the name of which starts with the letter L if I recall correctly) that is a bit grisly and does not show up on X-Ray. Damage to that can only be evaluated on MRI with contrast. From his evaluation, he feels I have some damage in that stuff. But I'll wait to see what the doctor says.

 

[Send0]

Well the physical therapist explained that in the ball joint, there is a substance (the name of which starts with the letter L if I recall correctly) that is a bit grisly and does not show up on X-Ray. Damage to that can only be evaluated on MRI with contrast. From his evaluation, he feels I have some damage in that stuff. But I'll wait to see what the doctor says.

Probably referring to the labrum. I had my labrum repaired in my 20s, and they did have to use contrast to see it.

2 years ago I had an MRI done on my other shoulder, not related to the labrum, and it did not require contrast.

 

[Elivo]

both of my shoulders have torn labrums, the right doesn’t bother me but the left I had to have surgery, but there was also more torn than just that. It probably depends on the amount of tear, so I can see if it’s not too bad it would probably show up better with contrast. They saw both of mine without but my left esp was pretty jacked up lol

 

[Kraken]

Yes, he said labrum, thanks guys.

 

[chicago311]

the other day i was useing the preacher bench doing curls and pop, there went my left bicept, so now i got a big ball there and it's quit different than my right side now, i look goofy, when it happened it hurt but i kept going and it seems to be doing better, just looks funny.

 

[Send0]

Checked in for an update, then remembered you said December 2nd. I hope you're at least feeling a bit more comfortable with the rest you've been giving it

 

[Kraken]

Checked in for an update, then remembered you said December 2nd. I hope you're at least feeling a bit more comfortable with the rest you've been giving it

Thanks I appreciate that! Actually it is getting worse, and I have not even been doing much. Last night I woke up with a burning, sharp pain. In my daily life I have learned how not to move, sadly I move those ways in sleeping.

I'll be traveling on vaca the coming week, then the MRI as soon as I return. The I see the doctor Dec 12th. Its a long time to be in pain, I'll probably call and see if they will give me something.

 

[Send0]

Thanks I appreciate that! Actually it is getting worse, and I have not even been doing much. Last night I woke up with a burning, sharp pain. In my daily life I have learned how not to move, sadly I move those ways in sleeping.

I'll be traveling on vaca the coming week, then the MRI as soon as I return. The I see the doctor Dec 12th. Its a long time to be in pain, I'll probably call and see if they will give me something.

Let me see if I can type this out without a migraine..ive had bad shoulder issues, so if this can help you then it's worth it to me.

Sleeping was a big problem for me. What helped me stay still and not roll on it was to setup a series of pillows so that I was laying at like a 30 degree angle... a little lower or higher works too, just depends on what feels comfortable on a given day. This stopped me from moving or rolling pretty much completely.

I still sleep this way, as laying on my shoulder will give me pain for days on end.

If you have one of those adjustable beds then even better!

Before this I just had a really big pillow I'd place next to me on my left side, made it hard for me to roll over on that shoulder while I slept. It didn't work nearly as well as setting up my pillows so I laid at a 30 degree angle when on my back.