Shoulder/chest pain

[David Gray]

This isn't a question for me, but for a sailor of mine. We are overseas and frankly don't trust the quacks we are issued for docs. They may not be wrong, on occasion, bit second opinions from you athletically minded types in the gallery are invited.

About eight weeks ago he developed a sharp pain that occurs across the front of his deltoids, really more from the deltoid across the front of his upper ribcage for several inches. It's okay as long as his arm is to his side or behind him, but as soon as as raises his arm palm forward, as if to strike a volleyball, he feels the pain. He can do diamond pushups, but with his arms slightly spread for regular pushups he can't go down because of the pain. The other main symptom is noticeable loss of strength in that arm.

The doctor suspects it's the long nerve that runs from your pinky up past your "funny bone," across the humerus and across the ribs until it enters the rib cage to connect to the spine. This makes as much sense as anything, but other than waiting a month (mid-Nov) to get him into physical therapy, I'd like to know if there is anything else we can pursue to get him working without pain and improving. If anyone else has experienced this or maybe understands what's going on, please weigh in.

Thank you.

[Bob Guere]

Originally Posted by David Gray

This isn't a question for me, but for a sailor of mine. We are overseas and frankly don't trust the quacks we are issued for docs. They may not be wrong, on occasion, bit second opinions from you athletically minded types in the gallery are invited.

About eight weeks ago he developed a sharp pain that occurs across the front of his deltoids, really more from the deltoid across the front of his upper ribcage for several inches. It's okay as long as his arm is to his side or behind him, but as soon as as raises his arm palm forward, as if to strike a volleyball, he feels the pain. He can do diamond pushups, but with his arms slightly spread for regular pushups he can't go down because of the pain. The other main symptom is noticeable loss of strength in that arm.

The doctor suspects it's the long nerve that runs from your pinky up past your "funny bone," across the humerus and across the ribs until it enters the rib cage to connect to the spine. This makes as much sense as anything, but other than waiting a month (mid-Nov) to get him into physical therapy, I'd like to know if there is anything else we can pursue to get him working without pain and improving. If anyone else has experienced this or maybe understands what's going on, please weigh in.

Thank you.

I am NOT a doctor or anything close. However, this "sounds" like the pain I had when I tore my labrum. I thought for a long time I had a clavicle injury, or something similar. But the pain was debilitating like your sailor's.

Did he do anything that would resemble a separation? I did not separate, but took a hard kick (taekwondo) in the upper arm when my arm was pinned to my body. The pulling/pushing down of the arm from the kick tore the labrum.

Just my .02.

[David Gray]

He suspects volleyball as the cause. The group he does volleyball with has also been hooverballing on occasion, which I find a more likely suspect. However, I don't think there was one particular moment where the pain began, more like he woke up in the morning to find himself in pain.

[Bob Guere]

Originally Posted by David Gray

He suspects volleyball as the cause. The group he does volleyball with has also been hooverballing on occasion, which I find a more likely suspect. However, I don't think there was one particular moment where the pain began, more like he woke up in the morning to find himself in pain.

Wow, yeah. Hooverball would do it. I think an MRI is in order if ice/NSAIDs don't take care of it in a week or two.

[David Gray]

My suspicion, thanks. They did x-rays on him, but no soft tissue scans. I hate the doc he had, I had it out with him in the hospital hallway once because of the stupid way he was mismanaging my wife's illness. Sounds like he fumbled again.

[David Gray]

Ran into my sailor at the gym today, he says it was definitely volleyball, not the hooverball, but it turns out he didn't have an x-ray, either. Just a few twists and turns of his arms, and then he was told he had to be seen by physical therapy before any follow-on testing could be done (I don't know why this quack refuses to order diagnostics, same stunt he did with my wife until I went around him). I'm angry at myself I didn't pay more attention earlier. Come Tuesday I'll be tearing some new ones on his behalf.