Need help... Shoulder pain from bad crash

[Ilivetoski]

So about 3-4 weeks ago I was pulling hard to 5 ball and what I think happend was I broke at the waist and just kept going more and more forward on the ski until I went OTF. Immedietly I felt a pain in my shoulder and could not move my arm. I had 2 thoughts at first 1) is it broken? and 2) if it is not broken is it a torn rotator cuff? (my dad had rotator cuff surgery in April and is still no where near being able to ski). I got back in the boat and sat in while another skier took a set. It was when we pulled back to the dock that I began to be able to move my arm. It was painful but I could do it. Later that night I went online and looked up Rotator cuff symptoms and it was telling me to move my arm certain ways and if I could not do it, it probably was a compete tear. I could move my arm but it hurt so I was thinking partial tear. Within about 3 or 4 days the pain went away and I regained full mobility. I have been skiing on it. Then the other day I was hitting golf balls and the second the club hit the ball it killed by shoulder. It was not the motion that hurt (as i do practice swings) but when the club makes impact it HURTS. It does not matter how I move the arm, it does not hurt. Skiing on it does not hurt. It does not hurt to the touch. Only when I hit a golf ball. Does anyone have any clue what this could be or had something similar? I am 18 and about to be done skiing and golfing for the winter so I imagine it will heal over the winter but I am still curious as to what I could have done.

Thanks!!

[gregy]

I had a issue that doc cleared up using anti-inflammatory injections. I'm a lot older and things don't heal like they used to. I'd say you might want to see a doctor or a sport physical therapist so it doesnt carry over into spring.

[34mph]

Could be a labrum tear. But as long as it is doing better I would just keep resting it with ice and NSAID ( motrin) , and maybe get some PT on it , could take away to heal up.

[Waternut]

I'm no doctor and far from it so take this for what it's worth. However, I've been in A LOT of accidents doing all sorts of activities. A friend of mine does physical therapy for athletes and she recommended a foam roller...the stiffer the better for injury related stuff (blue or black if I remember correctly). Dick's sporting goods and academy both have them as does Amazon. The concept is it gives a deep muscles massage and breaks up the calcium deposits that forms due to the injury. Basically you use your body weight and roll the tender muscles, tendons, etc. on this foam roll. When I use it on an injured area, I feel like I might as well be rolling on nails because it'll just about bring tears. However, I really do feel immediate relief that can last many hours, days, or indefinitely depending on the severity. Call it the devil roll or whatever but it's cheap and I like mine for the nagging pains.

[cragginshred]

@livetoski, I work in out an patient PT ortho clinic. Most likely you have severe impingement, which means as you fell your arm went up and back pinching a small muscle called the supraspinatus which sits under your mid deltoid. It is inflamed and does not like to get slammed between the humeral head and acromian process when you abduct and flex your arm (lift it up or out).

ICE ICE and yes really, actually ICE it, until it's numb 12-15 minutes 5x a day and it should get better in a few days. If it does not you need to get in to see a PT to rule out a tear. If you can currently lift your arm over your head even with discomfort or pain you likely do not have a tear in your cuff, just impingement.

[Ilivetoski]

@cragginshred I can move my arm any way I want. Up as far or out as far as I want. To any side, behind my back, across my chest, I can bend it so that I can touch the shoulder blade on the opposite side of my body. All of which is painless. None of the motion hurts. It is only the impact of the face of the club hitting the golf ball.

[xrated]

sounds pretty easy to me...stop golfing! It just interferes with lake time.

[estrom]

um...you do realize how wimpy it sounds that hitting that little white sphere sitting on a tee causes pain?? Maybe stick to pee-wee golf?

[mwetskier]

keep your front arm straight your front foot flat your back arm tight and your head down.

[cragginshred]

@livetoski if your cuff was torn you could not lift it past shoulder height. With icing and **staying away from irritating movements** -which tends to re aggravate the healing process you will get the inflammation under control quickly. At 18 years old you will heal quickly!

[Texas6]

I tore my labrum two seasons ago in the exact same crash. Not saying you did the same thing, but I never saw it coming and I couldn't re-create it if I tried. Like you, it happened at the end of the season. I could ski again the following summer but it took a good year for me to get full mobility again. Some people can tear a muscle and in spite of the tear, can function at 99% in time, and some don't recover as well. Either way, you should give it a bit of time to see which category you fall into

[RLW]

@Ilivetoski. Most likely its a sprain/strain which would typically improve in 4-6 weeks, especially at your age. It is a little odd though that you don't have some discomfort at the extremes of motion. It's possible you subluxed the shoulder and possible, though unlikely, that you tore your labrum. I agree that it's highly unlikely that you injured your rotator cuff, though a low grade partial tear can still allow good movement without much pain. A bone bruise is another possibility given your discomfort with impact; that would improve within 6-12 wks in most cases. I'd suggest that you give it a couple weeks and, if not better, have it evaluated by an orthopedic shoulder specialist. Good luck and hope you heal quickly!