Got my results for my MRI on my shoulder.. Any advice?

[animal-inside]

Chatgpt seems to say it's pretty serious.. Chatgt is making me think that the tendon with the biggest tear is only holding on by a thread. Any opinions? I have an appointment with my family doctor this week who ordered the MRI.. Im guessing I will be sent to see a orthopedic surgeon to see what they say..

I'm a bit worried because I'm still lifting heavy.. 100lbs dumbells for incline press/flat press etc.. I don't do anymore shoulder presses.. I'm worried I'm going to tear what's left of that tendon. But on the other hand, I have no idea how long my shoulder has had these tears?? So maybe I'm fine?

I get bouts of nasty shoulder pain.. Sometimes it lasts months or years.. RIght now, I don't have much shoulder pain compared to usual.. But I usually get shit sleep because I wake up with bad shoulder pain or I toss and turn because of the pain. I also wonder what the other shoulder is like inside.. The other one hurts lots, but not as much or often as the one in my MRI.


Part of me wants to try a long heavy dose of BCP to see if the tendons can heal? I am wrong to consider this?

My dislocated bicep tendon causes me fuck tons of pain... I know this one happened about a year ago.. I can rmember the day I was doing biceps and I could feel it clicking and pain.. I've been to chiro and physio many times about it and I kept telling them its the bicep tendon and it feels like someone is strumming it lie a guitar when I use it.. They all said it was likely just irratated and it woudl go away...


Off topic.. I've been going to doctors abotu this shoulder for an honest 8 year.. they all told me the same thing, try resting, try phsio, try ice, try heat etc.. None would refer me until my new family doctor.. Guy didn't batt an eye when I told him my shoulder gives me lots of issues.. before I finished explaining the pain, he had already started typing the MRI referal.

 

[gondar1]

There is a lot going on there such that the whole of the problem may well be greater than the sum of the parts. Me saying anything diagnosisy (lol) more than my bet/guess coming up would be deeeeep into the bro science so I wont.
But just for shits and giggles if I had to bet 10 bucks I would throw it down on "at some point will be told things like 'your just gonna have to take it easy from now on' and 'you know your not a kid anymore' "

Pretty familiar with all the words due mostly to my own adventures, here is a really good site you can learn a lot from, good pics and shit of all kinds of shoulder stuff iirc
And sorry @Sorbate I really should have thought to send you this link a while back too (or did I? FML)

Rotator Cuff Disease – Cambridge Shoulder

cambridgeshoulder.co.uk

 

[granpa1959]

You have my sympathy bro. I've had a shoulder procedure done to repair tendons RT side. Less pain but not 100% ok. Looking at reverse shoulder replacement on the other side in the future to resolve tendon/Rotator cuff damage. Take your time and heal. Do not push through the pain. Inflammation is the real enemy now.
Get a second opinion!! Its the long wait times that make it worse. Boredom and a desire to "forge ahead" can do more damage. Ice is your friend.

BTW the way....@Gondar1 is probably quoting what you are going to here.

Good luck!

 

[animal-inside]

There is a lot going on there such that the whole of the problem may well be greater than the sum of the parts. Me saying anything diagnosisy (lol) more than my bet/guess coming up would be deeeeep into the bro science so I wont.
But just for shits and giggles if I had to bet 10 bucks I would throw it down on "at some point will be told things like 'your just gonna have to take it easy from now on' and 'you know your not a kid anymore' "

Pretty familiar with all the words due mostly to my own adventures, here is a really good site you can learn a lot from, good pics and shit of all kinds of shoulder stuff iirc
And sorry @Sorbate I really should have thought to send you this link a while back too (or did I? FML)

Rotator Cuff Disease – Cambridge Shoulder

cambridgeshoulder.co.uk

If given a choice, should I go surgery route or physio?

The way I see it is if I get the surgery, they will likely repair everything... And I should be pretty near 100% afterwards and unlikely I would rip through my remaining tendons. Full recovery is 6-12 months.

If I do the physio route, it involves strengthening the rotar cuff muscles.. Which i've been doing (physio) for years. Physio will never give me the results surgery would and it will take longer to get benefit.. And gain, I've been doing physio on it for years already. Also, from what I've read, the bicep dislocation will never make any improvements through physio.. The only way to fix it is to cut it off at its current anchor point and reattach it to my humerous. No physio can really do anything.

Clearly I'm leaning towards just getting it all fixed, but should I honestly entertain more physio?

 

[DmanTRT2025]

Definitely physio in the meantime.

Lower weights a bit and switch to machines for the affected areas. Heavy free weights & barbells can increase risk, as you well know.

As an older lifter, I need to be careful around my shoulders/lower back. Get creative while you wait for surgery.

Just my 2 bits, stay safe and stay healthy.

 

[strongmann]

Regenerative medicine is the only option imo if you don't want to do surgery. Pm'd you all the info for you to check out.

 

[strongmann]

I had the top regenerative medicine guy in Canada Dr Anthony Galea work on both of my shoulders left one everything was torn moderate OA and full tears. Right one had lots of partial tears and severe OA which also had issues with biceps tendon. I did first generation stem cell which was a fat graft put into the AC joint and partial fiber tears. I did 6 PRP injections in my left shoulder and one in my right shoulder with the fat graft and years after about 7 years both have held up at had about 95% mobility which i would take over surgery any day. Down time was roughly 2 months then rehabbed for 3. Fast forward to a few years back and i had another procedure for my OA in both shoulders. It involved bone marrow injected into both AC joints with PRP and other growth factors. The most pain I've ever felt in my life which lasted about 3 months. Did another 3 months of rehab and I'm pain free able to sleep well. I don't power lift anymore and I'm ok with that. Just trying to cope against father time now

 

[Sorbate]

My bicep tendon felt really good before it tore for whats it's worth.

Anyhow if you can take the time off your job and get disability payments as you get this repaired to heal, I would for sure get the surgery.

I cannot take the time off work and the downtime to recover, so I will never get mine repaired, so I will have to back off the gas when it come to training for the rest of my life.

 

[gondar1]

Get a second opinion!! << that might be the single most important thing that determines what you future looks like Its the long wait times that make it worse. Boredom and a desire to "forge ahead" can do more damage. Ice is your friend.

Definitely physio in the meantime.

Lower weights a bit and switch to machines for the affected areas. Heavy free weights & barbells can increase risk, as you well know.

As an older lifter, I need to be careful around my shoulders/lower back. Get creative while you wait for surgery.

If given a choice, should I go surgery route or physio?
really don't think you can answer that until you (probably/hopefully get a consult with a surgeon or two ) they will give you the scoop on odds and outcomes

The way I see it is if I get the surgery, they will likely repair everything... And I should be pretty near 100% afterwards and unlikely I would rip through my remaining tendons. Full recovery is 6-12 months. the big problem is their are no guarantees once they get in there even with imaging "sorry to say it was worse than we thought so we had to remove the whole arm" I kid but you get the point I hope

If I do the physio route, it involves strengthening the rotar cuff muscles. Which i've been doing (physio) for years. and you will be doing it in some form for many more years, sorry but you are a lifer now, hate it all you want but "getting old aint for pussies" And maybe all your rotators are plenty strong now then. People, maybe meatheads especially, tend to get hung up on that part of it. how about ROM, scapular mechanics, the rest of the chain- neck, back, core, hips... it all works together Physio will never give me the results surgery would and it will take longer to get benefit.. And gain, I've been doing physio on it for years already. Also, from what I've read, the bicep dislocation will never make any improvements through physio. The only way to fix it is to cut it off at its current anchor point and reattach it to my humerous. No physio can really do anything. Semi disagree, along with other smart choices can at least help manage it and slow the rate of damage you are doing that leads to the big boom. Like rubbing a rope over a sharp corner every time that tendon rolls over the bump it wears a bit more, personally for now I just look at it as a race against the clock. That may be morbid but it's also real.

Clearly I'm leaning towards just getting it all fixed, but should I honestly entertain more physio?

My move here is an all out appeal to my GP to explore every option while continue to do that yourself. Get on every appropriate wait list you can and then contact those people regularly to ask to be on cancellation lists.
And keep on it, it's just a terribly unfun part of the lifestyle now but medical technology is rapidly improving, peps, regen as mentioned, improved surgical techniques etc. Have that shoulder be in the best possible shape to take the most advantage of whatever happens next.

Gotta play the hand your dealt -

 

[gondar1]

I had the top regenerative medicine guy in Canada Dr Anthony Galea work on both of my shoulders left one everything was torn moderate OA and full tears. Right one had lots of partial tears and severe OA which also had issues with biceps tendon. I did first generation stem cell which was a fat graft put into the AC joint and partial fiber tears. I did 6 PRP injections in my left shoulder and one in my right shoulder with the fat graft and years after about 7 years both have held up at had about 95% mobility which i would take over surgery any day. Down time was roughly 2 months then rehabbed for 3. Fast forward to a few years back and i had another procedure for my OA in both shoulders. It involved bone marrow injected into both AC joints with PRP and other growth factors. The most pain I've ever felt in my life which lasted about 3 months. Did another 3 months of rehab and I'm pain free able to sleep well. I don't power lift anymore and I'm ok with that. Just trying to cope against father time now

was all that crazy expensive?

 

[strongmann]

was all that crazy expensive?

YEP! so the Last procedure on both shoulders for the OA was 7k. I did them both cuz if i did 1 at a time it would've been 7k per shoulder. The PRP sessions with the Fat graft before that Cost me 3k per shoulder.. so all in all 20k total. I avoided surgery so in my opinion it was worth it but that's just me.

 

[granpa1959]

You could always take a holiday to Thailand or Vietnam. Get an MRI and see an ortho along the way. Took me an hour from the minute I walked into the clinic. No waiting for about $100 Cad. It would give you solid ground and evidence to discuss with potential surgeons in the future here or there. Not promoting foreign healthcare but knowledge is powerful as a tool.

 

[animal-inside]

thanks for the replies.. I'll try to cover it all here

I just got back from meeting with my GP that reffered me.. There's some confusion I was looking for a second opinion. I have not been given any opinion yet lol, just MRI results. My GP went over the MRI results with me and told me its not his relm and he'll refer me to a shoulder surgeon specilaist that he has sent patients to before. He said if he was going to guess if the surgoen will want to operate or not, his opinion is that he will want to operate because I'm relatively young, its my diminant arm, I'm really active, it wakes me up nightly and I'm in great health otheriwse.. He said if I was older, retired, not active than it wouldn't make sense to fix it..

If the surgeon wants to operate, I will 100% take a lot of time to decide if I feel like its the right thing to do or not.. I will likely get a 2nd opinion at this point unless the surgoen makes total sense in their explanaiton.. Agian, my GP said this guy is awesome and he's a shoulder surgoen specialist...

@strongmann I appriciate the info you passed along, but I really can't afford that treatment. Wife's vehicle has 310,000 km and is near 15 years old, it has to get replaced before I spend money to deal with my shoulder instead of waiting to see if the free medical care route can take care of it. Although what you did for your shoulder seems to be the better route with likely better outlook of success. Hell if I had the money I would be starting the treatment this month.


On another note, when I went to this GP orginally I had told him both my shoulders are just fucked, but my left is worse because thats the side with my pec tear.. He said he'd send refferal for MRI for that shoulder.. When I went to him today, both him and I were suprised at the amout of damage in that shoulder. Not the severite, but how there was multiple tears, dislocation etc.. He told me today.. "I didn't expect it to be this damaged.. You told me both shoulders are not good, if the other one is half as bad as this one, it will also need to be looked at too so I'll put the paper work in to get an MRI on it as well. I should have had MRI's done on both shoulders the first time". He bascialyl apologized for not getting them both done. I really like this GP.. I thanked him for just getting the first MRI done in the first place because every other doctor wouldn't do the MRI and just told me to ice, rest, stretch, physio etc..

 

[animal-inside]

I Should add that yes I Am going to continue with physio etc until I see the specilist.

 

[strongmann]

I Should add that yes I Am going to continue with physio etc until I see the specilist.

Still can't hurt though to check out the PRP with hydralaunic acid injections. It's still 3-500$ a shot and i went for 6 shots. They might not even be able to help but at least you checked it out. It's sad that our healthcare system doesn't recognize regenerative medicine but that's a whole other topic lol don't feel like getting political just finished a long ass day..

 

[animal-inside]

Still can't hurt though to check out the PRP with hydralaunic acid injections. It's still 3-500$ a shot and i went for 6 shots. They might not even be able to help but at least you checked it out. It's sad that our healthcare system doesn't recognize regenerative medicine but that's a whole other topic lol don't feel like getting political just finished a long ass day..

I'm curious, what was wrong with your shoulder that started you down the path of this type of recovery? Did you have a MRI done or?

 

[animal-inside]

Still can't hurt though to check out the PRP with hydralaunic acid injections. It's still 3-500$ a shot and i went for 6 shots. They might not even be able to help but at least you checked it out. It's sad that our healthcare system doesn't recognize regenerative medicine but that's a whole other topic lol don't feel like getting political just finished a long ass day..

And ya I agree.. our health care system has some much outdated perspectives and methods.

 

[Funnyman]

After the surgery, you should add some bpc to help speed up the healing.
Only saying this, as my old training partner and long time friend used bpc157 for is tricep surgery.
Good luck, and hope this doesn't take long to get fixed up.

 

[strongmann]

I'm curious, what was wrong with your shoulder that started you down the path of this type of recovery? Did you have a MRI done or?

Yes, I had an MRI done when i get a chance I'll post my results so you can compare. I was athletic all my life playing hockey, football, golfing, baseball and amateur Wrestling lol so wear and tear over time. I was in my mid 30's and was attempting to be a long drive golf competitor and since I started late surgery wasn't an option because I had only a small window to become an LDA open pro.