Have you talked to a physical therapist (physiotherapist) or just a doctor? You need to talk to a physio if you haven't. Can you explain this a bit? I have an extensive background in the field and...
Have you talked to a physical therapist (physiotherapist) or just a doctor? You need to talk to a physio if you haven't.
Unfortunately, physical therapy does not appear to be an option for me,
Can you explain this a bit? I have an extensive background in the field and I'm not sure I've ever heard of this. People with joint replacements start basic therapy the same day.
And I'm also a bit suspicious of the doctor's refusal to order imaging.
It's just... not possible :( I live in a rural community, and the nearest PT of any kind is a 5 hr roundtrip bus ride. I can't even leave the house that long due to unrelated GI issues. Besides...
It's just... not possible :( I live in a rural community, and the nearest PT of any kind is a 5 hr roundtrip bus ride. I can't even leave the house that long due to unrelated GI issues. Besides that, no one there accepts my insurance, even if I wanted to go.
The hospital I see my PCP at, that does accept my insurance (which is on the other side of the state), does virtual PT, so that seemed an option, but apparently they are stopping all virtual visits come December. So I am just cut off.
I did beg them to at least put in the PT referral so I could at least get in one visit before virtuals are terminated. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the referral was written incorrectly, so I am starting over from square one. The soonest PT appointment for them is 5 months away anyway, so I just give up.
And I'm also a bit suspicious of the doctor's refusal to order imaging.
Yeah, I wanted to cry when they said that. They said, don't worry, it's just tendonitis, it will go away, this isn't necessary. 2 months later, here I am still. I've booked another appointment for 2 weeks out, so I will re-ask then.
I'm totally open to PT, I just can't figure out how to access it due to insurance issues.
EDIT: My PCP is actually great, and I feel bad as it seems I painted them in a negative light. The previous doctor that refused imaging was the doctor filling in while my PCP was gone. Also, when I said I begged for a referral, it's essentially begging the office staff as a lot of the logistics are coordinated by them. The doctor definitely wants me to get PT, but the situation is what it is.
Ahh, I see. I am sorry for assuming it was a medical issue instead of a logistics issue. Here's the deal - I am extremely reluctant to suggest any exercises without knowing more about your...
Ahh, I see. I am sorry for assuming it was a medical issue instead of a logistics issue.
Here's the deal - I am extremely reluctant to suggest any exercises without knowing more about your situation and without you having had some imaging done. But this sounds like something that will be relatively easy and relatively quick to treat with physical therapy, so I want to encourage you to keep fighting that fight. It will be worth it.
In the meantime, do you have a foam roller or other self-massage tool like a lacrosse ball? I recommend you get one. It is unlikely that doing some tissue work on 1) your pecs and 2) your upper back will exacerbate any problem and it might help quite a bit.
Hey.. thanks for the encouragement. The fight for insurance has been endless for me, and has been frought with problems for the past 2 years. I'm not exaggerating when I say there's weeks I spent...
Hey.. thanks for the encouragement. The fight for insurance has been endless for me, and has been frought with problems for the past 2 years. I'm not exaggerating when I say there's weeks I spent 5-15 hours/week just dealing with insurance, for weeks on end. Essentially everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong (wrong codes in referrals, things getting denied as a result, having to act as the go between from insurance <-> hospital and relay info to each other in order to get things approved, as no one wants to reach out. Endless begging for everything). I thought this PT was going to be simple for once; when I learned the referral had been mis-written and I would need to start over, and get a prior auth just for the intake, I sort of threw in the towel.
If this is what you do, and you genuinely believe it's worth it, I'll pull my sorry ass back up and keep fighting for it. Perhaps it's what I needed to hear.
Here's the deal - I am extremely reluctant to suggest any exercises without knowing more about your situation and without you having had some imaging done. But this sounds like something that will be relatively easy and relatively quick to treat with physical therapy, so I want to encourage you to keep fighting that fight. It will be worth it.
I understand, and please understand that I am not looking for anyone to recommend exercises. I have had PT before, and the experience was similar: the PT is very guided to the individual and their exact situation, rather than there being some general set of exercises (in fact I'd assume that the wrong exercises might make things worse. This was my experience with vestibular physical therapy). I'm not sure what I was looking for in this thread, just thought I'd be open to hearing anything people could share (figured it would be stuff like, this is a good heating pad that I use).
I don't have a foam roller or a lacrosse ball, but I can get one. Thanks for the idea here.
Very much so. There's absolutely no reason for an otherwise healthy 30-something to live with shoulder pain. Please do. It could make a substantial difference. I'd stay away from the shoulder...
If this is what you do, and you genuinely believe it's worth it,
Very much so. There's absolutely no reason for an otherwise healthy 30-something to live with shoulder pain.
I don't have a foam roller or a lacrosse ball, but I can get one
Please do. It could make a substantial difference. I'd stay away from the shoulder directly, but anything connected to it (triceps, shoulder blades, pecs, traps) should be safe to roll out.
Thanks a lot. Listen, I think I am going to delete this thread. I realize now, after seeing the responses and discovering that PT is sort of the thing I must do, that this might be bordering on...
Thanks a lot. Listen, I think I am going to delete this thread. I realize now, after seeing the responses and discovering that PT is sort of the thing I must do, that this might be bordering on medical advice. I didn't realize that when I posted it, again figured this was a common and low key thing that might have some general advice on how to deal with at home. For that I apologize. Wanted to take the time to thank you for your advice, and taking the time to give some encouragement. I will keep fighting for PT. It's also encouraging to hear that this could possibly be a simple thing to resolve.
As other commenters have said, you really need to see a physiotherapist and get imaging (if another doctor recommends it). This is the medically correct way to approach this problem. I don't...
As other commenters have said, you really need to see a physiotherapist and get imaging (if another doctor recommends it). This is the medically correct way to approach this problem.
I don't recommend you do this, but BPC-157 (research chemical) is very good at healing tendon issues. There are cases of doctors using it, I believe. If regular treatments don't work for you, you could consider discussing using it with a doctor. Note that this would be a last resort option.
Hey thanks. My PCP is very much is on my side and wants this to resolve. I also have extreme confidence in her - she's a great doc. When I saw her last, I think she was hopeful that starting some...
Hey thanks. My PCP is very much is on my side and wants this to resolve. I also have extreme confidence in her - she's a great doc. When I saw her last, I think she was hopeful that starting some ibuprofin and doing a few rotator cuff exercises would fix things. When she discovered in two weeks that things were still just as bad, she said let's explore PT. I am sure she will be open to imaging if I ask her about it (the previous doctor that denied the imaging was not my PCP, but was filling in for her.) I went ahead and booked the next appointment I could with my doctor, and I will ask her about getting some imaging done. Maybe she will even be able to help with some of the insurance and hospital red tape that's making PT access difficult now.
Either way, sounds however like PT is the thing I need to do, and so my best course of action is just to keep fighting the insurance fight to get it. (and then meeting with my doctor to see about getting some imaging underway.)
I'll keep BPC-157 in my mind to bring up to my doc, if I end up with no other options. Thanks for sharing. Always interesting to hear about options that are still being researched.
I'm feeling a little uneasy about this thread now, because I don't want it to seem like I'm looking for medical advice, nor do I want anyone in the medical community to feel obligated to offer it (tildes should be the place to relax and unwind, I think). I really figured tendonitis is just a common thing and people would have some general advice that's helped them, but seems this is not DIY territory. I might delete the thread because of this.
It's very likely your doc will not know about BPC 157 and also say it's not standard of care. Very last resort option and you'd have to go to a speciality doc who even knows about it I think. The...
It's very likely your doc will not know about BPC 157 and also say it's not standard of care. Very last resort option and you'd have to go to a speciality doc who even knows about it I think.
The main thing for you is to get seen by a physio IMO and make progress on regular standard of care stuff IMO. I don't think this is medical advice rather than how to progress your situation in the medical system.
Hey thank you so much for your advice. Oof. I ended up deleting the thread before seeing this; maybe it was premature. I just hate the idea of posting something, and someone in the medical...
Hey thank you so much for your advice. Oof. I ended up deleting the thread before seeing this; maybe it was premature. I just hate the idea of posting something, and someone in the medical community (or any community for that matter) feeling obligated to respond or something. I don't like people to feel they need to do work, or think in a work way, when they are off work and relaxing. It's not a huge deal for things like tech, but with medicine/medical things it seems different, because it's people's quality of life, and I imagine it can be difficult not to respond to those things. I apologize if I inadvertently did that. I find it's difficult to know how to post about personal health situations (like the tendonitis) in such a way that doesn't end up happening.
Thank you again for the thoughts here. I already have my strategy underway, and am planning my next steps for tackling insurance issues, so that I can meet with a PT.
Great! Personally I don't think you need to mind so much about it. On reddit, /r/AskDocs is specifically for medical advice adjacent conversation, for example. I wouldn't worry at all.
Great!
Personally I don't think you need to mind so much about it. On reddit, /r/AskDocs is specifically for medical advice adjacent conversation, for example. I wouldn't worry at all.
Have you talked to a physical therapist (physiotherapist) or just a doctor? You need to talk to a physio if you haven't.
Can you explain this a bit? I have an extensive background in the field and I'm not sure I've ever heard of this. People with joint replacements start basic therapy the same day.
And I'm also a bit suspicious of the doctor's refusal to order imaging.
It's just... not possible :( I live in a rural community, and the nearest PT of any kind is a 5 hr roundtrip bus ride. I can't even leave the house that long due to unrelated GI issues. Besides that, no one there accepts my insurance, even if I wanted to go.
The hospital I see my PCP at, that does accept my insurance (which is on the other side of the state), does virtual PT, so that seemed an option, but apparently they are stopping all virtual visits come December. So I am just cut off.
I did beg them to at least put in the PT referral so I could at least get in one visit before virtuals are terminated. Unfortunately, I found out yesterday that the referral was written incorrectly, so I am starting over from square one. The soonest PT appointment for them is 5 months away anyway, so I just give up.
Yeah, I wanted to cry when they said that. They said, don't worry, it's just tendonitis, it will go away, this isn't necessary. 2 months later, here I am still. I've booked another appointment for 2 weeks out, so I will re-ask then.
I'm totally open to PT, I just can't figure out how to access it due to insurance issues.
EDIT: My PCP is actually great, and I feel bad as it seems I painted them in a negative light. The previous doctor that refused imaging was the doctor filling in while my PCP was gone. Also, when I said I begged for a referral, it's essentially begging the office staff as a lot of the logistics are coordinated by them. The doctor definitely wants me to get PT, but the situation is what it is.
Ahh, I see. I am sorry for assuming it was a medical issue instead of a logistics issue.
Here's the deal - I am extremely reluctant to suggest any exercises without knowing more about your situation and without you having had some imaging done. But this sounds like something that will be relatively easy and relatively quick to treat with physical therapy, so I want to encourage you to keep fighting that fight. It will be worth it.
In the meantime, do you have a foam roller or other self-massage tool like a lacrosse ball? I recommend you get one. It is unlikely that doing some tissue work on 1) your pecs and 2) your upper back will exacerbate any problem and it might help quite a bit.
Hey.. thanks for the encouragement. The fight for insurance has been endless for me, and has been frought with problems for the past 2 years. I'm not exaggerating when I say there's weeks I spent 5-15 hours/week just dealing with insurance, for weeks on end. Essentially everything that could go wrong, has gone wrong (wrong codes in referrals, things getting denied as a result, having to act as the go between from insurance <-> hospital and relay info to each other in order to get things approved, as no one wants to reach out. Endless begging for everything). I thought this PT was going to be simple for once; when I learned the referral had been mis-written and I would need to start over, and get a prior auth just for the intake, I sort of threw in the towel.
If this is what you do, and you genuinely believe it's worth it, I'll pull my sorry ass back up and keep fighting for it. Perhaps it's what I needed to hear.
I understand, and please understand that I am not looking for anyone to recommend exercises. I have had PT before, and the experience was similar: the PT is very guided to the individual and their exact situation, rather than there being some general set of exercises (in fact I'd assume that the wrong exercises might make things worse. This was my experience with vestibular physical therapy). I'm not sure what I was looking for in this thread, just thought I'd be open to hearing anything people could share (figured it would be stuff like, this is a good heating pad that I use).
I don't have a foam roller or a lacrosse ball, but I can get one. Thanks for the idea here.
Very much so. There's absolutely no reason for an otherwise healthy 30-something to live with shoulder pain.
Please do. It could make a substantial difference. I'd stay away from the shoulder directly, but anything connected to it (triceps, shoulder blades, pecs, traps) should be safe to roll out.
There is hope.
Thanks a lot. Listen, I think I am going to delete this thread. I realize now, after seeing the responses and discovering that PT is sort of the thing I must do, that this might be bordering on medical advice. I didn't realize that when I posted it, again figured this was a common and low key thing that might have some general advice on how to deal with at home. For that I apologize. Wanted to take the time to thank you for your advice, and taking the time to give some encouragement. I will keep fighting for PT. It's also encouraging to hear that this could possibly be a simple thing to resolve.
As other commenters have said, you really need to see a physiotherapist and get imaging (if another doctor recommends it). This is the medically correct way to approach this problem.
I don't recommend you do this, but BPC-157 (research chemical) is very good at healing tendon issues. There are cases of doctors using it, I believe. If regular treatments don't work for you, you could consider discussing using it with a doctor. Note that this would be a last resort option.
Hey thanks. My PCP is very much is on my side and wants this to resolve. I also have extreme confidence in her - she's a great doc. When I saw her last, I think she was hopeful that starting some ibuprofin and doing a few rotator cuff exercises would fix things. When she discovered in two weeks that things were still just as bad, she said let's explore PT. I am sure she will be open to imaging if I ask her about it (the previous doctor that denied the imaging was not my PCP, but was filling in for her.) I went ahead and booked the next appointment I could with my doctor, and I will ask her about getting some imaging done. Maybe she will even be able to help with some of the insurance and hospital red tape that's making PT access difficult now.
Either way, sounds however like PT is the thing I need to do, and so my best course of action is just to keep fighting the insurance fight to get it. (and then meeting with my doctor to see about getting some imaging underway.)
I'll keep BPC-157 in my mind to bring up to my doc, if I end up with no other options. Thanks for sharing. Always interesting to hear about options that are still being researched.
I'm feeling a little uneasy about this thread now, because I don't want it to seem like I'm looking for medical advice, nor do I want anyone in the medical community to feel obligated to offer it (tildes should be the place to relax and unwind, I think). I really figured tendonitis is just a common thing and people would have some general advice that's helped them, but seems this is not DIY territory. I might delete the thread because of this.
It's very likely your doc will not know about BPC 157 and also say it's not standard of care. Very last resort option and you'd have to go to a speciality doc who even knows about it I think.
The main thing for you is to get seen by a physio IMO and make progress on regular standard of care stuff IMO. I don't think this is medical advice rather than how to progress your situation in the medical system.
Good luck!
Hey thank you so much for your advice. Oof. I ended up deleting the thread before seeing this; maybe it was premature. I just hate the idea of posting something, and someone in the medical community (or any community for that matter) feeling obligated to respond or something. I don't like people to feel they need to do work, or think in a work way, when they are off work and relaxing. It's not a huge deal for things like tech, but with medicine/medical things it seems different, because it's people's quality of life, and I imagine it can be difficult not to respond to those things. I apologize if I inadvertently did that. I find it's difficult to know how to post about personal health situations (like the tendonitis) in such a way that doesn't end up happening.
Thank you again for the thoughts here. I already have my strategy underway, and am planning my next steps for tackling insurance issues, so that I can meet with a PT.
Great!
Personally I don't think you need to mind so much about it. On reddit, /r/AskDocs is specifically for medical advice adjacent conversation, for example. I wouldn't worry at all.