Preventing Shoulder Surgery in One Visit
A patient somewhat reluctantly came into physical therapy for an evaluation.
He was told he needed 6 weeks of conservative care before his insurance would pay for his Shoulder Labral Repair.
His pain was severe at the time and prevented him from even going to work. He was miserable and just wanted the surgery to get started so he could move forward in life.
During the initial conversation—it didn’t seem like a shoulder injury.
Then during the physical evaluation—it was revealed that it definitely wasn’t a shoulder injury. All tests, strength, and mobility were normal.
The big moment came when he was asked to tilt his head to the right. This immediately intensified the sharp pain into his left shoulder. After ten repetitions tilting to the left his pain decreased 50%. Two more sets of 10 reps abolished the pain.
He was sent home with a very specific exercise program and postures to be aware of.
He went to work the next week and avoided the surgery.
While this is an egregious case, it’s not rare to see shoulder pain that is really coming from the neck.
Another reason to seek physical therapy before going to the surgeon.