I can not tell you how many patients we get into our office that had a shoulder pain and their symptoms were coming from their neck.
We have had patients who had rotator cuff surgeries without results and hurting even worse for years who got better coming into our office. To patients that had rotator cuff surgery scheduled and did not need to have the surgery and got full resolution… Here is the Kicker- It was not a shoulder problem..
How is this possible?
Here is a story of HOPE and one that will tell you why this happens more times than you think. We want to share this with you to provide education for you to make sure you have exhausted all possibilities before you have shoulder surgery or a Rotator Cuff Surgery because that may not be the source of your problem..
Here are a few clues that helped us know that surgery was probably not their answer.
First when you do not have a true incident like a fall on the shoulder and your pain just appeared one day or gradually got worse, you probably should not have the surgery…
That was the story behind one of our patients. When they called the office and we spoke to them, that was the first red flag that made us think you should come in so we could further investigate this.
They told us that they tried physical therapy. Guess what? We could predict the shoulder strengthening exercises that they were given. Which of course did not work as their shoulder was not the problem.
They told us that the doctor found a Rotator Cuff Tear in the MRI so since therapy did not work surgery was the only option.
They had the surgery scheduled when they came into our office. We had 3 weeks to turn things around before they were going to have surgery.
A surgery by the way that would have them hurting for months, not being able to sleep due to the pain. Not able to function or even get back exercising for 3-5 months. Working was even going to be difficult. This is not a fun surgery…
When we first saw this patient, they could not raise their arm up to shoulder height due to pain. They really could not do much at all with their arm due to pain. We also found that their neck and thoracic spine were not moving very well (not many healthcare providers even go looking into the spine for the problem). As we told them we would start by ruling out the neck and the thoracic spine, they told us that their pain actually started between her shoulder blades (this also is common with neck issues pointing us to the probable cause of her pain).
By the second week their range in their shoulder was 75% back. Their pain had reduced significantly. They were sleeping better at night, and their improvement was so much better that they canceled the rotator cuff surgery.
We did not touch their shoulder!! Remember that MRI’s can show in the normal population a rotator cuff tear 40% of the time! In baseball players 95% of pitchers will show a rotator cuff tear with an MRI but they are pitching at normal speeds and without problems. This is why you can rely on imaging to come up with a solution.
It is also why I always say where the SITE of the pain is not often where the SOURCE of the problem is. This patient was back to all their activities pain free and fully functional in 6-8 weeks! They would have been in so much pain at the 6-8 week mark if they had the surgery.
You have to think how much time they saved being able to work pain free, not to mention the money they saved on not having the surgery…
What if you did not have to have Shoulder Surgery? What if we could help you get to the source of your problem? How would that affect your life?
Do you want to see we could help you avoid surgery? Or maybe just get your life back and want to know that it is possible…
That is why we have a FREE DISCOVERY VISIT we offer to help YOU make a better decision about your health whether you come in here or not. But do not delay as we have limited spots for these appointments each week. They are a hot commodity. Click HERE to claim your spot!
Our number one goal is to help you with education to help you make the best decision for your health. I cannot tell you how many people we have been able to help avoid the surgery they were either thinking they needed it or told they needed it. Again, just CLICK HERE if you want to sign up for your FREE DISCOVERY VISIT!
