I had rotator cuff surgery four years ago. I still have severe pain and stiffness in my shoulder. I just take over the counter medication for my pain as I am 6 weeks pregnant. I am getting so depressed that I am not able to do things that I used to do before I had the surgery. I recently read that rehabilitation and physiotherapy treatment( http://www.physiomobility.com/physiotherapy-toronto-thorn-hill-don-mills.html ) has shown to be beneficial for such pains. But I don’t know whether it’ll be safe to take such a treatment at this situation. Has anyone else experienced this? Please share.
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Joined: March 15, 2006
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find someone who is well versed in treating chronic pain patients. They will educate you and help you manage during your pregnancy and after. They won't "fix" you so don't expect that.
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Joined: February 27, 2005
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Elda, if indeed you do find someone well versed in treatments of chronic shoulder pain, that person will know that your pain is very unlikely to be a discrete problem of the shoulder, rather a referred pain from your upper thoracic and cervical spine. In which case the cause of that pain will be a reversible condition best described as spinal protective behaviour. SPB is a protective control situation where your brain exerts muscular tonic control over the movements of your spinal joints. One of the consequences of this is pain, quite often the only pain felt will be in the limbs. This is the most common cause of chronic shoulder pain. Any therapist with good hands and skilled in spinal joint mobilisation will be capable of reversing the SPB causing pain, this may take up to two treatments to show results and a further handfull to resolve more completely. In my own clinical experience, this condition can be "fixed" about 95% of the time, with no attention to the shoulder at all. Skills and understanding of this condition and the method best used to treat it vary, particularly in the US. You may find an Australian trained physio if you look hard enough, or one trained in the Maitland method ( an early form of mobilisation ) Good luck.