Arborist Shoulder Pain

[NW Arborist]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and need advice. I have had pain in either of my shoulders off and on for years now. I've been climbing for almost a decade. At one point a doctor told me it was Bursitis. I see a massage therapist regularly, stretch, and eat well, but still I feel the pain periodically. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and has any advice. Did you need surgery? The pain does go away if I completely stop working, but I can't do that. Help?

 

[Redbug]

You sound like you have a torn rotator cuff. Limited arm movement because of pain in the shoulder. It's hard to sleep on it or get comfortable at night. The pain varies with different days.

I have had a rotator cuff injury on my left shoulder, got it back to 100% by going to a good orthopedic doctor, (a sports medicine doc), had the MRI and followed up with physical therapy. I was lucky and did not need surgery. 3 years later...now my right shoulder is hurting and I have made an appointment to have it looked at. It took about 3 months therapy...going twice a week to get my left shoulder back again and without pain. With the surgery...you may be out of business for a few months, including therapy. It's better to go ahead and get it fixed while you are young and get on with life.

I think tree workers and climbers are prone to this type of injury.

Here's a couple interesting links:
Rotator Cuff Tears - Your Orthopaedic Connection - AAOS
Torn Rotator Cuff Symptoms

If you go to the doctor, let us know what they found...

 

[Treetom]

Something I googled.

The treatment of any form of bursitis depends on whether or not it involves infection. Bursitis that is not infected (from injury or underlying rheumatic disease) can be treated with ice compresses, rest, and anti-inflammatory and pain medications. Occasionally, it requires aspiration of the bursa fluid. This procedure involves removal of the fluid with a needle and syringe under sterile conditions. It can be performed in the doctor's office. Sometimes the fluid is sent to the laboratory for further analysis. Noninfectious bursitis can also be treated with a cortisone injection into the swollen bursa. This is sometimes done at the same time as the aspiration procedure and typically rapidly reduces the inflammation of the swollen bursa.

 

[Sagetown]

Sounds like Bursitis flare-ups. Roto-cuff tears usually get worse with use. They're usually associated with bone spur cutting away roto muscles .
Certain bloodpressure Meds can cause shoulder pain too.

 

[Shaun Bowler]

Don't let the doctors/insurance companies BS you.
You need an MRI and then surgery.
I had the same problem. Basically the same life style as you.
Physical therapy only works for static-office type workers.
The sooner you get surgery the sooner you will be out of pain and back to normal.
I was back to work in 6 weeks.

 

[Shaun Bowler]

PS
The MRI does not show everything.
Once the Surgeon was in , she found detached bicep tendons, and some other stuff I to not remeber.

 

[Redbug]

Right on, Shawn! I feel that you need to see a real Doc to get a diagnosis.

 

[benn]

My shoulder injury

Hi all. I basically tore my Teres minor muscle, about 4 years ago, whilst I was in a cedar tree pulling up an 020, it got caught, i gave it a good yank, and my shoulder popped. Hurt like hell, but I carried on regardless, and next day had to climb some big beech trees, hurt like hell.

I stupidly didn't see a doc about it... now, its has repaired itself, but makes alot of noises, cracking, clicking. Doesn't hurt much now, but is a bit irritating. Is there anything I can do?

 

[promac850]

Hi all. I basically tore my Teres minor muscle, about 4 years ago, whilst I was in a cedar tree pulling up an 020, it got caught, i gave it a good yank, and my shoulder popped. Hurt like hell, but I carried on regardless, and next day had to climb some big beech trees, hurt like hell.

I stupidly didn't see a doc about it... now, its has repaired itself, but makes alot of noises, cracking, clicking. Doesn't hurt much now, but is a bit irritating. Is there anything I can do?

You just basically described what I tend to get in my right shoulder... sometimes it'll pop and click, and if I pull hard enough on something or lift something really heavy, my arm actually pulls out of the socket a little bit.

I woke up one morning with shoulder pain... hurt for a while, even after pulling and pushing my arm back to exactly where it felt like it should be...

Almost all of the joints in my body click and pop now. I guess I just beat the hell out of myself when I'm working on something.

I'm not even 20 yet, and my joints pop and click... kinda worries me sometimes.

I don't know of anything that can be done about it... doc would know more than I do.

 

[redheadwoodshed]

You just basically described what I tend to get in my right shoulder... sometimes it'll pop and click, and if I pull hard enough on something or lift something really heavy, my arm actually pulls out of the socket a little bit.

I woke up one morning with shoulder pain... hurt for a while, even after pulling and pushing my arm back to exactly where it felt like it should be...

Almost all of the joints in my body click and pop now. I guess I just beat the hell out of myself when I'm working on something.

I'm not even 20 yet, and my joints pop and click... kinda worries me sometimes.

I don't know of anything that can be done about it... doc would know more than I do.

Try a chiropractor

 

[promac850]

Try a chiropractor

I will have to look into that. Sounds expensive though...

 

[redheadwoodshed]

I will have to look into that. Sounds expensive though...

The one I go to charges $25 a visit.My shoulders where hurting so bad and both arms would go numb that the only way I could sleep was setting up.I let this go for about a year until it got so bad I couldn't bare it anymore.It took about 5 visits, but man did I ever feel better.Well worth the money.I don't know if it would help the OP but if your popping like you say I'm sure an old bone popper would do you some good.
I know your a young guy, so let me tell you, the older you get the worse all those little aches get.Maybe you could save yourself some pain later down the road and start getting 'adjusted' now.

 

[ClimbinArbor]

I think Ive been having a similar problem. Atleast 50% of my time in the tree involves pulling 300 pounds of gorilla and equipment upwards.... Six months ago I had this pain in my left shoulder, which totally freaked me out, so i went and had my heart checked out to make sure it was exploding or anything... Doc said heart was AOK so I figured it was just a pulled muscle or something...

Now it seems to get worse the harder i work this year. The pain seems to move from where the top of my lung is, to halfway down my arm. Hurts in different spots at different times. If i sleep on it wrong or prop myself up with my left arm it starts bugging me.

I cant remember ever having injured anything in the area of my left shoulder.... Any of you guys had these problems with bursitis? My docs cant tell the difference between a broken wrist and slap in the face, so their not much help lol.

 

[Sagetown]

ClimbinArbor: Get an X-Ray of that shoulder. If they locate a large bone spur, then go to a (shoulder bone spur) specialist in Orthopedics. No need to mess around with therapy and injections if the roto-cuff muscles are layed open by a bone spur. That will just make it worse during surgery.

 

[utlarb4trees]

your diagnosis can only be pinpointed by your symptoms, and where the pain is located---There are four rotator cuff muscles--2 for external rotation, and 2 for internal rotation. If you are weak in those areas shoulder pain can occur from muscular imbalances. Posture is important, shoulders down and back. As tree climbers we spend a lot of time internally rotated, arms in front/overhead. It's possible to have a torn shoulder labrum as well--this rim of cartilage helps cushion and deeper the shoulder socket. Popping, grinding, and instability all associated with torn labrums. Pain is usually in the front of the shoulder, especially when reaching across the chest, or up in the air. However, there are too many symptoms to describe to you without knowing exactly where your pain is. I would consult with a sports medicine ortho--who will test your shoulder according to your symptoms.. Good Luck

 

[Sagetown]

My wife had roto-cuff surgery Friday. The muscles were completely severed. He also removed a large bone spur. I took her bandages off today. 3 tiny holes in her shoulder. One on the back side and two in the front. She begins Therapy on the 19th and will have the sutures removed. She refused all therapy treatments, and injections, against demands from every source but the surgeon's. Somehow she sensed those muscles were torn.