Pain im shoulder and arm

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Smileyface

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Hi. My partner has had pain in his shoulder and upper bicep. He thinks it may be frozen shoulder as an it feels stiff and painful on lateral lift (raising his arms out to the side and moving up to his ears). He also gets sharp stabbing pain running down his arm when carrying our short quick movements. He says that pain is much worse at night and isn't getting much sleep. He has had this for about 3 months now.
I know that people with diabetes are likely to get frozen shoulder!

I am worried it could be Neuropathy to do with his diabetes but he doesn't think it is?

Is there anyone how can give me guidance to pass onto him please?

Many thanks
 
Sorry to hear that your partner is in pain @Smileyface Shoulder pain is horrible. I’ve had it and it’s surprisingly awkward and seems to spread to the neck and head too.

I don’t think it sounds like neuropathy but I’m not a doctor. I think it would be best if he could get seen so that he could get a diagnosis. The only time I had shooting pains like you describe was when I had a trapped nerve. I’m not sure they’re a sign of frozen shoulder. It could be an injury or a strain or similar. In that case, there might be some treatment that would help - hence the importance of getting it seen.
 
Inka said:
Sorry to hear that your partner is in pain @Smileyface Shoulder pain is horrible. I’ve had it and it’s surprisingly awkward and seems to spread to the neck and head too.

I don’t think it sounds like neuropathy but I’m not a doctor. I think it would be best if he could get seen so that he could get a diagnosis. The only time I had shooting pains like you describe was when I had a trapped nerve. I’m not sure they’re a sign of frozen shoulder. It could be an injury or a strain or similar. In that case, there might be some treatment that would help - hence the importance of getting it seen.
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Thank you for your guidance! Appreciated
 
I agree he should seek medical guidance and support but it sounds just like my frozen shoulder felt. There are treatment options that help some people to some degree so it’s very much worth exploring those as the pain can become unbearable. All I’d say is do the research for each option offered as different choices have various pros and cons that might not always be fully explained.
 
HSSS said:
I agree he should seek medical guidance and support but it sounds just like my frozen shoulder felt. There are treatment options that help some people to some degree so it’s very much worth exploring those as the pain can become unbearable. All I’d say is do the research for each option offered as different choices have various pros and cons that might not always be fully explained.
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That's great. Thank you for your understanding and help!
 
My understanding that neuropathy usually (but not always) develops at the same time on both sides.

I’ve had frozen shoulder twice, and both times it followed the same pattern, 3 equal length phases of ‘getting stiffer’ ‘being stiff’ and ‘getting easier’. They lasted about 9months each the first time, and 6months each the second time, so a little over 2 years and 18months in total.
 
Short Answer.
See if you can get a GP referral to ultrasound to see what's going on.

Long Answer
Sounds very much like what I've had for the last year or so. Came on out of nowhere with a mild ache & progressed as you describe to the point where I couldn't sleep. I don't know how common this is among different health authorities but I was able to self-refer to physiotherapy.

They initially diagnosed a potential frozen shoulder & I was provided with a number of different exercises, but I couldn't complete any of them as they all just aggravated the pain. Next step was referral to a muscular-skeletal unit who in turn booked ultrasound. That showed a swollen bursar & mild arthritis. I then had a steroid injection into the bursar followed by another into a different site around six weeks later. This has slowly improved things & I've recently completed a five week exercise course to strengthen the shoulder muscles, to be continued at home.

I feel a good deal of time was wasted by going through physio as I was seeing a young guy with the "No pain no gain" mantra. I was several appointments in before he made the referral to MSK & then there was a two month wait. That's why I suggest going straight to the GP. GPs can do steroid injections too, so that may offer some relied in the short term. But they ideally need to be carefully placed based on the ultrasound result rather than a hit & hope!

I still have some discomfort but it no longer interrupts sleep & has minimal impact on my daily life. Whether I'll need further steroid injections remains to be seen.
 
RBZ5416 said:
Short Answer.
See if you can get a GP referral to ultrasound to see what's going on.

Long Answer
Sounds very much like what I've had for the last year or so. Came on out of nowhere with a mild ache & progressed as you describe to the point where I couldn't sleep. I don't know how common this is among different health authorities but I was able to self-refer to physiotherapy.

They initially diagnosed a potential frozen shoulder & I was provided with a number of different exercises, but I couldn't complete any of them as they all just aggravated the pain. Next step was referral to a muscular-skeletal unit who in turn booked ultrasound. That showed a swollen bursar & mild arthritis. I then had a steroid injection into the bursar followed by another into a different site around six weeks later. This has slowly improved things & I've recently completed a five week exercise course to strengthen the shoulder muscles, to be continued at home.

I feel a good deal of time was wasted by going through physio as I was seeing a young guy with the "No pain no gain" mantra. I was several appointments in before he made the referral to MSK & then there was a two month wait. That's why I suggest going straight to the GP. GPs can do steroid injections too, so that may offer some relied in the short term. But they ideally need to be carefully placed based on the ultrasound result rather than a hit & hope!

I still have some discomfort but it no longer interrupts sleep & has minimal impact on my daily life. Whether I'll need further steroid injections remains to be seen.
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You have encouraged me to see my GP regarding my shoulders which I have had problems with for several years. They are not too much a problem during the day but at night are agony and do disturb my sleep, no painkillers seem to help. I do quite a lot of exercise using my arms as I am a bellringer, do digging, do stained glass where I am using my arms when cutting glass, how much or how little I have done doesn't make any difference.
I tried to get a GP appointment a few months ago and they just got me to see their physio who said it wasn't joint related and suggested various exercises which I did but they didn't help.
Time for action me thinks.
 
My pain was diagnosed as a rotator cuff injury and I was given gentle exercises to do. Some I do at home and some in the pool with my shoulder and arm under water. It's recurred several times (a lifetime of competitive table tennis) and i have to be careful not to aggravate the inflammation. Each time it slowly cleared up after a few months.
 
Felinia said:
My pain was diagnosed as a rotator cuff injury and I was given gentle exercises to do. Some I do at home and some in the pool with my shoulder and arm under water. It's recurred several times (a lifetime of competitive table tennis) and i have to be careful not to aggravate the inflammation. Each time it slowly cleared up after a few months.
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I've had rotator cuff problem before but what I am getting is quite different, movement is not really restricted just aching, tenderness on top of the shoulder from pressure of bra straps.
 
Leadinglights said:
I tried to get a GP appointment a few months ago and they just got me to see their physio who said it wasn't joint related and suggested various exercises which I did but they didn't help.
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I think the problem with physios is that they can only make an "educated guess" diagnosis, based on the symptoms. You really need that ultrasound to see the soft tissue in the joint that x-ray can't see. Although x-ray is useful to check for arthritis.
 
Hmph! I had a frozen shoulder, but very mild and healed itself OK - in time. But I thereafter what both myself and the GP thought was another - but wasn't. I was lucky to find a really expert independent physio who did diagnose it properly - only by expert (and painful!) feeling. I'd damaged a tendon and because I'd given up 'keep moving it' cos it was soooooo ruddy painful, the heling tendon had formed a 'calcified' burr so had attached itself to my shoulder blade. I went twice a week for months and the two of us could only stand 10 minutes treatment - my shoulder and her thumbs, as she gradually wore the burr away by rubbing it against the bone and forcing myself to keep it moving as much as poss myself in between sessions. Saw her for approx 3 months. This was 25 ish years ago and at £20 a time then it was hardly cheap BUT - money well spent. Cured it - and oh by the way - I gave up playing tennis!
 
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