Fell off ladder 1 month ago, upper arm still painful

[simon43]

Fell off a ladder about 4 weeks ago. The fall height was about 2 metres onto concrete. I landed on my back and left side. This caused a large black bruise on my hip (now cleared up OK).

Curiously, I also bruised/cracked ribs, even though I fell onto my back and side. Several weeks of pain when I cough/sneeze and now that's all OK.

But my upper arm is still painful when moved in a particular direction. Specifically, if I am sitting down and have to reach behind me for something. I get a sharp pain in my upper arm. So reaching to pick something up from the rear seat in my cart sitting in the driver's seat hurts a lot. Going for the loo roll on the wall to my left when sitting on the loo really hurts!

Any ideas? I can use my right hand to squeeze my upper arm in all areas without pain.

Picking up heavy shopping bags hurts my upper arm also.

Any ideas? I'm not one for hospitals, (last occasion when I stayed in hospital was at my birth...)

[bkkmick]

Symptoms sound exactly like a frozen shoulder problem that I had for months. My Mrs. Suggested a visit to local hospital for physiotherapy. After 5 sessions the pain was gone. Good luck, that frozen shoulder (if that's what it is) was really painful.

Edited October 13, 2014 by bkkmick

[Loptr]

Sounds like something in your shoulder, maybe torn cartilage or perhaps rotator cuff... Been there, know the pain...

[FBN]

There was significant force involved here so damage to the shoulder joint or surrounding ligaments is very likely. The movement that brings on the pain may indicate an AC joint dislocation type injury.

These take extremely long to become painfree..

Diagnosis here is by an X-ray of the joint. Treatment options are limited apart from the usual NSAID treatment but will also depend on the degree of the dislocation; there are Grade 1 - 3 injuries. Type 3 being the least painful although most severe.

The long term risk here is the development of a "frozen shoulder" so it may be time for a re-visit and an X-ray to confirm and get specific treatment.

[h90]

I am not one for hospitals....but an XRay would be extreme useful.....You don't need to follow the docs advice, but get an xray, get it explained and BRING IT HOME. Not let it stay with them.

Last time (but not in Thailand) when a hospital refused to give me the XRay without an extra charge as they need to keep the original for internal quality management, I told them I pay for an XRay so I get an Xray. If I don't get it, I don't pay it.....

After 20 min discussion they decided to give me the XRay off the records And I never received the bill.....

[Pacificperson]

In my experience, it takes three to four months for the pain to go away.

[Tywais]

Unhelpful posts removed.

[h90]

In my experience, it takes three to four months for the pain to go away.

yes if there is no real damage, so better XRay

[simon43]

I cannot believe my bad luck/stupidity!

Yesterday, with my shoulder still painful but slowly improving, I put up a hammock, careful to place it only a few inches above the ground in case it broke/fell.

I climb into the hammock and ... the knot slipped. Out I fall onto the hard ground and my left shoulder again!

Now the area really hurts again and I cannot currently lift my arm above 90 degrees without extreme pain. Arm movements close to my body or with the arm in a downwards direction are not painful.

Dr Google suggests a type II AC injury, (there is no visible clavicle 'bump').

Ho hum, back to the start in terms of recovery....

[cdmtdm]

ac joint is whats wrong , go and see brian the deep tissue guy opposite rum jungle ..he is a canadian and very very good , fixed many people i know some with serious injuries ... yes it is painful and annoying ..goodluck

[simon43]

@cdmtdm - can you please PM me with his details? I don't know him/his location.

Thanks very much

Update - Found the details on Google - no PM required!

Edited October 23, 2014 by simon43

[inbangkok]

I cannot believe my bad luck/stupidity!

Yesterday, with my shoulder still painful but slowly improving, I put up a hammock, careful to place it only a few inches above the ground in case it broke/fell.

I climb into the hammock and ... the knot slipped. Out I fall onto the hard ground and my left shoulder again!

Now the area really hurts again and I cannot currently lift my arm above 90 degrees without extreme pain. Arm movements close to my body or with the arm in a downwards direction are not painful.

Dr Google suggests a type II AC injury, (there is no visible clavicle 'bump').

Ho hum, back to the start in terms of recovery....

Oh, man. You need to lock yourself in a rubber room until you heal. But seriously, I don't think it is unreasonable to have some pain a month after a hard fall.

[StefanBBK]

I had something like this year's ago. A friend in Phuket suggest a medical massage. I was brought to a local guy who performed such service. It was in a garage type building, lots of candles and stuff. Anyway after an hour of treatment I was virtually pain free and could move the arm again.

This was not a commercial thing. In fact no payment was made, other than a donation to some charity. There were many locals lining up.

So my suggestion is to ask a Thai friend. They generally should be able to point you in the right direction.

Other than that, hospital, x-ray, chiropractor. ...

[simon43]

Re-activating this thread that I started almost 3 years ago.

 

This AC injury generally no longer causes me constant pain or discomfort.  But if I move my left arm suddenly behind me or outwards, then I can get an excrutiating and sudden sharp pain in my shoulder.

 

Sometimes this happens in my gym weight training - I try to avoid any exercise routines that would place stress on an outstretched arm.

 

I'm wondering about the long-term outcome of this injury.  I'm 58 years old and generally in good health and fitness.  Is an AC injury likely to cause me increasing problems in advanced years, and should I therefore seek treatment (perhaps surgery) now, whilst I'm not too old?

 

Or does this type of shoulder injury generally not deteriorate as one gets older, and can therefore be left untreated?

[Sheryl]

Impossible to say  based on your post, you need to have the shoulder examined.  You should see a shoulder specialist when next in Bangkok. Dr. Mason at Bumrungrad is excellent.

[chubby]

ya, the shoulder in a complex, the movements your talking about are called internal rotation and abduction.   'being your own dr'  may have made it seems it was the AC tear, but,  many other possibilities,  involving the labrum, cartilage, rotator cuff , even after you see a orthopod or something,  often these type of things can be misdiagnosed by MDs  and then there is the matter of what if anything to do and not do,  I would doubt that stuff 'at the gym'  is a good idea.  and don't take NSAIDs,

 

there is a reason dr.'s go to school for 8-12 years

[simon43]

Actually, the weight training routines that I do at the gym were carefully chosen by me and my trainer so as to avoid stressing my shoulder joints in a manner that causes me pain.  I need to build up my puny arm and chest muscles, and I do inclined press etc.  That is all fine, so long as I set the incline press equipment so that I don't need to bring my shoulders down too low at the start of each lift.

 

But yesterday, the last person left the equipment set to a low start and stupid me didn't check!  So when I started the lift, my shoulder joint was placed under too much stress, hence the sharp pain...

 

Sheryl, can you recommend a shoulder specialist at a different BKK hospital?  I ask because my medical insurance covers me for all private hospitals except Bumrungrad.