Neck injuries

[roxynoodle]

It can be be aggravated by repeated use, even if it is not anything very physical. I don't know if it can be caused by this. I tore mine (not too badly) several years ago in my right shoulder. Believe it or not, grading tests can aggravate it. At the end of every semester when I have a lot of exams to grade I will get a bad flare up. Just from grade page, flip, grade page, flip, etc. I mean, what does a couple pieces of paper weigh? Next to nothing, it is just the constant repeated motion I guess. At the end of grading those exams I'm in pain for about 2 weeks.

 

[DCS]

I am a bit confused. What does a injured rotator cuff have to do with a pain in the neck/neck injury? The rotator cuff is on the shoulder joint close ot where your deltoid muscle is.

The pain starts in my neck area and then migrates toward my shoulder. It seems to come and go every 4 or 5 days. The day I went to the Doc it wasn't even hurting. After the visit, walking to the truck, I was thinking maybe the tractor is it, so I turned my head to show my wife what I was talking about and dang if it didn't flare up again. I am going to start being more observant and take mental notes about what I did the day before. I am 54 by the way.

 

[Tom_Veatch]

As mentioned by several others, look for a chiropractor. I was also a skeptic. I had recurring neckpain for years. Every couple of years from the time I was in my late teens, it would set in and I would be practically incapacitated for several days until it quit hurting. I went through the MD, muscle relaxant, pain-killer, neck-collar route with no relief.

About 15 years ago the frequency started increasing. When it got down to every couple of weeks, I decided that a chiropractor probably wouldn't hurt and might help. After a few visits to the D.C., I haven't had a stiff neck or any neck pain since. Your mileage may vary, but give it a shot.

 

[BTDT]

I am a bit confused. What does a injured rotator cuff have to do with a pain in the neck/neck injury? The rotator cuff is on the shoulder joint close ot where your deltoid muscle is.

Kind of like if something on your foot hurts and makes you walk funny, your hip will start hurting. The foot bone is connected to the leg bone is connected to etc. etc....

 

[Farmwithjunk]

My neck has been hurting for 6 months or so, off and on. I finally went to the Doc about it and he seems to think it may be a torn rotator cuff. I asked him how in the world could that have happen. After discussing my activities and bringing up tractor work, he seems to think operating the tractor and looking backwards at lot (which I do spend a lot of the time watching the mower or the BB) may have caused the torn rotator cuff. Have you guys ever experienced any problems like this?

If sitting on a tractor looking over your shoulder would cause torn rotator cuff, I wouldn't be able to use either arm. I can account for nearly 15,000 hours of tractor time (engine hours anyway) over 35 (+)years. Plowing, discing, planting, cultivating, mowing hay, raking hay, baling hay, bush hogging, even a few years with a pull-type combine. In other words, A LOT OF LOOKING BACK.

Suprised a doctor would say something like that. Most docs I know are hesitant to make speculations. They tend to deal with known facts rather than guessing.

 

[PineRidge]

Maybe a set of rearview mirrors will at least help?

 

[MossRoad]

My neck has been hurting for 6 months or so, off and on. I finally went to the Doc about it and he seems to think it may be a torn rotator cuff. I asked him how in the world could that have happen. After discussing my activities and bringing up tractor work, he seems to think operating the tractor and looking backwards at lot (which I do spend a lot of the time watching the mower or the BB) may have caused the torn rotator cuff. Have you guys ever experienced any problems like this?

I could see how looking over your shoulder and operating a steering wheel could aggravate you neck and shoulder. Take your doctor's word for it and have it checked out. If the doctor thinks it "may be" a torn rotator cuff, then you should have that checked out more thoroughly to see if it "is indeed" a torn rotator cuff. Take his advice and have it checked out.

I had torn rotator cuff 10 years ago. Got it playing softball. Couldn't lift my arm over horizontal. Couldn't throw a ball. Couldn't turn a steering wheel. The cure? I'm no doctor and all cases are different. As it was explained to me, there are varying degrees of rotator cuff injuries. Mine was not severe enough to warrant surgery unless I wanted to play pro ball. I didn't. I wanted full range motion with no pain. Not too much to ask! I went through several months of therapy. They had me on a hand bike and weights followed by medication in a patch that had electric current running through it. The current would get the medication from the patch into and under my skin. Then they would have some big dude pull on my arm to open up the joint while some little dude with an ultrasound device would grind it into my shoulder. The ultra sound would drive the medication further into the joint. This was followed by a hot, moist towel and a nap for 1/2 an hour in a nice warm dark room. At home they gave me a latex strap to hook over a door and do several pulling excercises every day that I did not go to therapy. I did that three times a week for a couple months and all was well for about a year. It started flairing up again, so I went back for more of the same. It has been fine for the past 9 years. I feel I am still at 90% range of pain free motion. I can live with that. And I still play disk golf and can hang with the young punks. The folks that did my therapy were also the folks that supplied therapy for injured college atheletes at a local university that shall remain nameless (GO IRISH!).

 

[Marlowe]

I'm getting to be somewhat of an expert on neck injuries; painfully through my own experience. I don't see the connection to the rotator cuff though. What I did find out when I first injured my neck is that some doctors are clueless. I finally found one that was smart enough to listen and figure out what was causing all the pain. He sent me to a neurosurgeon. That doctor gave me all the options, one of which was surgery. He also suggested I try shots first, but that I should sleep on it before I made a decision. I slept on it for three weeks before I decided to give the shots a try. It turned out that an old friend of mine was doing the shots and he told me that he'd had it done himself five times, but that now he was good to go. The pain in my arms was tremendous at this time. I needed help no matter where it came from. One simple, relatively painless shot in my neck and I've been pain free in my arms and shoulders ever since. So much for a rotator cuff, at least in my case. But this was after months and many doctors and exrays of my shoulders and whatever else. Sometimes you just need to find a doctor that guesses right. I'm sure glad I finally did.

Good luck with your problem. I know it can be a real pain in the neck.

Tom

 

[kbiddle]

Well for what it is worth I too have been down the torn rotator cuff path..
I got hit while going to dunk a basketball, arm was hyperextended behind me and I had something like a 6 MM tear...
Long story shot... I did have it repaired...and to this day I believe it was the worst decision I could have made...
After a little over 8 1/2 months of rehab... was supposed to be only 4 weeks...I now have... constant pain and sever degerative arthritus in that shoulder... and would trade that gladly back for the rotator tear...
I would get as many opnions as possible.... and make sure if in fact you do get it repaired that the surgeon has a a great track record...
Best of luck I know it can be a trying experience.

 

[gclark94560]

Hi All! This might be a bit long.

Well, having been a Chiropractor for 20 or so years I think I'll drop in my 2 cents worth.

First, you are entitled to have as many problems at the same time as you would like. Meaning that I think you have two seperate issues going on here.

The fact that you turned your head to show your wife how it hurt and the pain came back says you have, without a doubt, a neck problem. The fact that the pain goes down the neck into the arm says you are pinching a nerve in the neck. SEE A GOOD CHIRO!

Second, you may or may not have a rotator cuff injury. Many of these injuries are cumulative and not traumatic. It often has to do with the shape of the large flat bone that forms the top of the shoulder joint. If it hooks over and down to the side very much it will pinch and rub the rotator cuff every time you elevate your arm up past horizontal. Things like lifting and grading papers thousands of times can wear the ligaments through. So can twisting around to watch your mower while sawing the steering wheel back and forth for hours.

If the shoulder pain comes on with head motion - it is neck, not rotator cuff. If the shoulder pain comes on with arm use it is most likely rotator cuff.

Hope this helps

Greg