Shoulder Injury and Cortisone Shot? Yes or No?

[I am Weasel]

I seem to have blown my shoulder about a month ago and the Dr. seems to think it's a strained rotator cup. There's no MRIs here so we'll have to go with that conclusion for now. My shoulder kills me if I move my arm over my shoulder, back past the horizontal plain of my body or across my chest. The last time I lifted the first bench press hurt like hell, even tho it was light. The next set wasn't so bad even tho it was heavier. The next two sets on the flat bench were reasonably heavy (for me) and didn't hurt as bad. We did flys, incline and decline after that and by the end of the day I felt pretty good. The next day was murder...
Doc wanted me to rest it for a week (I'd already taken a week off the weights by the time I saw them) and come back for some excersizes. I came back a week later, told the doc that it still hurt even just sitting there so they sent me away for another week. Ice, 800mg Ibu and rest is what I've been told to do so far. Ice is a PITA under my current circumstances so I've been skipping that. Doc sez if it's not better this week they'll try to get me to see the surgeon for further diagnosis and maybe a cortisone shot. I've read good and bad about cortisone shots. The bad being they can weaken the tendons and they encourage you to continue tearing up whatever was bad in the first place.
Where I'm at they're famous for feeding you 800mg Ibu until whatever's bothering you either falls off or gets better on it's own.
This whole deal is coming right at the end of a cycle where I gained about 25 pounds in 10 weeks. I haven't lifted in 3 weeks and I can see myself shrinking as I type this. I've already lost about 10 pounds, I'm so pissed...
Thanx for your input.
Weasel

 

[ClintCanada]

I seem to have blown my shoulder about a month ago and the Dr. seems to think it's a strained rotator cup. There's no MRIs here so we'll have to go with that conclusion for now. My shoulder kills me if I move my arm over my shoulder, back past the horizontal plain of my body or across my chest. The last time I lifted the first bench press hurt like hell, even tho it was light. The next set wasn't so bad even tho it was heavier. The next two sets on the flat bench were reasonably heavy (for me) and didn't hurt as bad. We did flys, incline and decline after that and by the end of the day I felt pretty good. The next day was murder...
Doc wanted me to rest it for a week (I'd already taken a week off the weights by the time I saw them) and come back for some excersizes. I came back a week later, told the doc that it still hurt even just sitting there so they sent me away for another week. Ice, 800mg Ibu and rest is what I've been told to do so far. Ice is a PITA under my current circumstances so I've been skipping that. Doc sez if it's not better this week they'll try to get me to see the surgeon for further diagnosis and maybe a cortisone shot. I've read good and bad about cortisone shots. The bad being they can weaken the tendons and they encourage you to continue tearing up whatever was bad in the first place.
Where I'm at they're famous for feeding you 800mg Ibu until whatever's bothering you either falls off or gets better on it's own.
This whole deal is coming right at the end of a cycle where I gained about 25 pounds in 10 weeks. I haven't lifted in 3 weeks and I can see myself shrinking as I type this. I've already lost about 10 pounds, I'm so pissed...
Thanx for your input.
Weasel

Cortison sounds like a miracle but you're better off recovering if possible without it. You need an MRI done before you start speculating what it is -- but assuming it is rotator cuff and you have only a minor tear not requiring surgery, you can recover naturally on your own and come back to weight training and be 100%. Bottom line is you need a complete break from the weights and recover slowly, give physiotherapy a try -- this approach worked for me. I went from not being able to move my arm much at all (even drive a car) to lifting close to 100% in under 5 months. Be patient. And forget about the cortisol.

 

[Dutchman]

Went through a similar problem three years ago with my left shoulder and am going through it again now with my right one. In each case I took 3 weeks off from training and then started up again at 50% of my normal poundages but with increased reps. I added a lot of stretching with a long balloon like rubber band until I could do sets of 50 reps over my head and back. Lastly but extremely important, I used/use megadoses of Cissus, I try for 8 caps split pre workout and nightime and that proved to be a godsend for healing. Look into it with a search here and you'll find lots of guys who have done the same. Good luck.

 

[nycste]

if your shoulder hurts that much get a damn xray and mri

if you dont have insurance lol then ur boned. mine kicks in thurs woot.

stop wasting time with ibprofen lol and going to a clueless doctor. get an xray and mri right away.

start going to see a good sports doctor

 

[I am Weasel]

Thanx to everyone who replied. I'll keep going along with the Docs advice for now and see how it goes. If it's not getting any better then I'll try to take it up a notch. I have very little in the way of options for medical care right now. Options will be better in a few months if I need more in-depth care.
I'll look into the Cissus and see what that's all about and stretch more effectively.
Thanx again.
Weasel

 

[PumpingIron]

cortisone should be a last ditch effort before surgery.

 

[I am Weasel]

cortisone should be a last ditch effort before surgery.

I've heard that, and I'll try to avoid the shot.
Thank you.
Weasel

 

[poacher]

Cortisone should be a last resort and it has been for me a couple times. First the knee after surgery. It worked. Second time about 3 years ago. Very bad wrist fracture. Lots of rehab , some success but still a lot of pain. Then got the cortisone. That and prayer and I am good.

 

[PumpingIron]

I've had 5 cortisone shots in my life. All in my forearms. IMO, they are a short term solution.

Rehab is always the best way to go.

 

[Razorback]

llllllllllllllllllllllllll

 

[shanerips]

The shot should be a last resort before surgery, but I had great success with one shoulder with an injection and the other required surgery. An MRI should be done period and you should see an orthodpedic, but without insurance it would be a *****.

 

[I am Weasel]

Thanx again for all the replies. I'm playing with the docs silly rubberbands now and babying my arm as much as possible. I really haven't felt much improvement over the last couple of weeks but we'll see where it goes from here and I'll try to avoid getting a shot.
I'm glad to hear most of y'all made good recoveries from your injuries. There should be some hope for this old guy.
Weasel

 

[ClintCanada]

llllllllllllllllllllllllll

cool

 

[lilGiant]

Like many have said here, get an MRi, along w/ a doctors opinion. Tell the Doc your situation and your training dedication. If it is something that cant get worse, shoot it up. If it is a degenerative problem that will only get worse, by all means get some therapy and take the time you need to recovery properly.

 

[max silver]

It may well be worth your while to look into active release. Depending on the severity of your injury, it might help you to get usage of your shoulder back, or at the very least lessen the pain in your shoulder.

 

[Werewolf]

One shot of cortisone weakens tendons by 40%. Really bad stuff.

Definitely try Cissus.

Unfortunetly is getting hard to get hold of IGF-1 which would be very helpful.

 

[I am Weasel]

There's no MRIs on post here and "Training Dedication" means nothing to these docs. I can possibly get a MRI in a few months once I'm stateside again. Until then there's not much else I can do, and I'm not real keen on having an injectable sent over here through the mail. Maybe once I'm home it could be a possibility.
Again, many thanx for the input.
Weasel

 

[GotTest]

Just had ONE cortisone shot in my shoulder 2 weeks ago and glad I did!

My shoulder (rotator cuff) hurt like hell for over a month. I tried ice, 800mg Ibuprofen, Icy Hot, cissus, lighter work outs,etc. but nothing would help the pain.

Went to an Orthopedic surgeon, recommended MRI before even considering cortisone, MRI revealed inflammation only with NO tears (Thank God).

He gave me one shot (not a series) and sent me to PT for exersices to strengthen rotator cuff.

Let me say, he is known as one of the best shoulder Docs in the nation and has treated a few NFL players for shoulder injuries. When he say get a shot, I LISTEN!

BTW... I'm the same age.

 

[I am Weasel]

I'm glad to hear that your recovery is going well. I just ordered a bunch of Cissus and I'm going to give it a chance. The docs here got me on Meloxicam for swelling and some very strange transdermal. The transdermal is a 'figure 8' shaped patch that they shoot a liquid onto and then stick it on my shoulder but the odd thing is there's a small battery in the patch. The tiny current flow is supposed to help with the absorption process. Crazy...
Overall, my shoulder is getting better but it's very slow. I'm hoping the Incarnate and Super Cissus powder help speed up the process. I'm down 10# from the end of my cycle right now (I gained 25) and I need to get back at the weights before I shrink any more.
Thanx for the input.
Weasel

 

[jinxie]

I'm glad to hear that your recovery is going well. I just ordered a bunch of Cissus and I'm going to give it a chance. The docs here got me on Meloxicam for swelling and some very strange transdermal. The transdermal is a 'figure 8' shaped patch that they shoot a liquid onto and then stick it on my shoulder but the odd thing is there's a small battery in the patch. The tiny current flow is supposed to help with the absorption process. Crazy...
Overall, my shoulder is getting better but it's very slow. I'm hoping the Incarnate and Super Cissus powder help speed up the process. I'm down 10# from the end of my cycle right now (I gained 25) and I need to get back at the weights before I shrink any more.
Thanx for the input.
Weasel

I had chronic pain in both of my a/c joints for years, as a consequence of repeated separations from sports, and then aggravation from lifting. DXed with bipolar shoulder impingement syndrome. I fractured one of the a/c joints -- I guess it compressed too much, shattering the bone at the a/c joint. The pain was unremitting. I had an egg on the top of one of my shoulders.

I finally gave in, and had them shot with cortisone. In fact, one of them I had shot twice. I wasnt lifting at the time, and didn't for 6+ months after. They have since gotten much better. I don't regret it one bit.

I dont know what the poster means by it weakening the tendons by 40%. I'd appreciate seeing support for this, which sounds extreme. In fact, it sounds impossible.

From my research, getting the shots is safe, if not used as a band-aid. You reduce inflammation through an exogenous agent so that the joint can heal. What is dangerous is continuing to lift on it, thus preventing the healing from occurring, and sometimes working beyond the joints healthy capacity, making matters worse.

FWIW, my doctor is a prominent sports orthopaedist who treats professional ballplayers. The only warning he gave me was that eventually the shots would no longer work. I hope to never need another. Since then, I've been on TRT for secondary hypogonadism and the shoulders are getting strong again, slowly but surely. The discomfort upon returning to working out has been relatively minimal.

Good luck.

 

[10195079]

I have also experienced a shoulder injury involving harsh and prolonged pain. During that time it was difficult to move the shoulder in certain directions and there was a constant pain centre on the rotator cuff.

After four weeks experiencing these symptoms without any lessening of the pain, I saw a doc. The doc arranged an ultrasound and this revealed a tear to the bursis.

Weasel, from what I can see you are dosing ibu at 800mg,IMO this is a high dose that should only be used for short periods of time.

Before the unltrasound I dosed ibu at 100mg for 2 weeks, 200mg for 1 week and 400mg for 1 week, with no pain reduction despite the increase in dosage.

The reason i did not experience any pain reduction despite the increased dosage of ibu was due to the fact pain associated with a tear to the bursis can not be treated using oral ibu.

Having lived with the pain for over a month I did not hesitate when the doc offered me the cortisone injection, it was delivered into the rotator cuff. The effect was immediate and brought about a huge easing of pain symptoms.

Weasel, I think you should get an ultrasound done before considering an MRI, it will definitely be a lot cheaper than an MRI and save you from having to see a surgeon.

Otherwise go for the cortisone injection, it makes no sense to live with pain if you don't have to. During my experience the pain was preventing me from getting close to 8 hours sleep each night, and may have slowed the healing process.

 

[msucurt]

I believe i may have torn my cuff or labrium...not sure. It hurts like the dickens the day after lifting and even that night.....Its to the point of waking me up during the night, and that is very hard to do. I warm up my rotator cuff 10min before lifting, but it has only help a little. Im afraid when I go see our team doctor , he is going to tell me that i need surgery and thus be out of the gym for 6 weeks.....ugggh....

 

[Misnerwest]

"Where I'm at they're famous for feeding you 800mg Ibu until whatever's bothering you either falls off or gets better on it's own."After reading that part I knew you were in the military.I am former Air Force, Aero Medical Evac Tech been out since 2000.
Military doc's are notorius for only prescribing motrin.
My shoulder has been sore ie. with over head ROM,after exercise ,can't sleep on affected side x three months.
Bench press went from max of 365 raw to benching with the 10-15 pound foam coated pink lady dumb bells.Even squatting hurts holding on to the bar.I am also 40 years old.
First month took motrin x 3 weeks 800 mg (did'nt help).
Also took Cissus x 2 months also (did'nt help).

Second month decided I couldn't fix it on my own so I saw my Doctor.He recommended Physical Therapy 2-3 x per week x one month. Did the same thing as you rubber bands, patch with medicine connected to some kind of ipod device. Did ice pack at least 2x per day and after working out. Physical Therapy did not work!(although hope it works for you every one is different).

Third month saw an Orthopedic Surgeon. After exam he said that it sound like bicep tendontis with a possible rotator cuff tear.(unable to decide on treatment until I get an mri which will be April15)He is hesitant to inject because of rupturing the bicep tendon isa possiblity. Since I failed physical therapy he said my options are getting very limited(ie surgery).

Here i sit in limbo only able to do half arsed work outs. Was striving for a 400 pound bench press(that looks like it will not happen sadly even if repaired(don't want to go though this again).The real tragedy is that I bought a bottle of Epistane cycle support and post cycle support and was going to run my first cycle.
Good luck to you!

 

[Rugger]

I'm not over 35, but a few weeks after I had shoulder surgery I opted for a cort shot so that I could use my right arm. Great decision and I don't regret it at all.

 

[DreamWeaver]

I blew mine up last night. It was really weird, was doing db press and my shoulder just gave out and I rotated back, heard a crunch and let go of db, it all happened so fast. It's like the strength in my shoulder just disappeared for a second.