shoulder

Hey Gary. It is nice that you have a thread that tells a story over time and that you keep it going.

All my fun with this process started with left arm pain that eventally went to my left shoulder and then my neck and then, bam, I got the tingling and inability to walk right and got told I have GBS. Now, it is thought that the shoulder was not really part of this–that it was an injury and I hope this is true because the shoulder pain started about 6 months before the “crash” and if it is part of this, it would be a CIDP presentation and I am hoping that this was GBS. BUT, the weakness of GBS/CIDP definitely contributed to the shoulder pain and made it worse and I had seen a physiotherapist/rehabilitation specialist just after discharge from the initial hospitalization and he said the shoulder was hurting from myofascial pain and did a trigger point injection which gave me 95+% relief. The pain in the shoulder and neck was so bad I could not sleep. Then I got PT for the “frozen” shoulder. If your muscles have a specific point that is really tender, this is something to think about. Overdoing them can lead to inflammation that sets up a cycle that is hard to break especially if there is weakness there.

I have been thinking about this recently because my arm/shoulder is again hurting. This got me a little worried (?CIDP), until I kind of connected that I am back to carrying heavier stuff whereas for the last four years I have used a rollator walker with a seat to carry books and papers and heavy stuff that I carry back and forth from work to home. I decided last fall not to use the rollator walker as much and have not used it at all in 2011. So my problem is likely stubbornness and not CIDP!!! Anyway, you could think if you are carrying more or have myofascial pain. The shoulder is a remarkable joint, but the complexity of its design is that weakness in one set of muscles can lead to imbalance and injury/pain. We are wonderously made even as we push the limits of that sometimes.

God bless you,
WithHope