shoulder people

[capricorn]

Morning all.......question. Every since my first day of PT i have a swollen area directly on top of my collar bone. It's not huge but feels like a bubble and looks like a small water balloon. Much larger than the other side. PT keeps telling me it's fluid and I can go with that but thought I would check here with the experts It curves from my shoulder in a direct line on top of my collar bone and is just about the same length. Sometimes I get a horrible pain in it that radiates up my neck. Don't know if it's normal or for that matter if it's a reaction to the nerve block. Stupid CAP was half asleep when I signed the paper with side effects to the nerve block so can't remember anything, can't see the surgeon until the 12th and have tried to call the anesthesia team with no success. Any thoughts?


CAP

[Lilly]

Hi.
I never had much swelling in my shoulder that I could see, although it must have been, as the skin in my arm and shoulder were very shiney. The swelling went to my one breast, via gravity. I had and still have two lymph nodes quite enlarged ( golf ball sz) just above the collar bones.There is a lymph gland there called a "supraclavicular node". When there is inflamation anywhere in the body, the nearest lymph gland can swell...possibly this is part of your problem. I never had a nerve block...so i cannot give you any of my own experience on that.
I hope your appmnt on the 12th goes well.
Take care, Lilly

[capricorn]

Thanks so much Lily........makes sence to me. I will do some research on it. PT was a little concerned because the area wasn't swollen after surgery but as PT started. I know what you mean about the shiny skin. My fingers are still swollen the better part of the time, shoulder swelling has gone down immensley. Maybe the fluid moved???? That's what PT keeps telling me that it's flui. Maybe??? The lymph node makes more sence to me. My breast on that side was two inches smaller for years. Now all of a sudden they are the same size so my guess is this is all normal. It will be 5 weeks tomorrow and from what I'm told I'm looking at a good 16 weeks for a pretty full recovery so I think all that's going on is probably normal. I have one PT who likes to really push. It seems whenever I have her The swelling gets worse. Ice brings it donw somewhat until she starts tearing at me. I have asked her twice already to please not pull and push further than the arm wants to go. I am doing great as far as ROM goes so would prefer to recover as I'm supposed to without rushing things along. She is the only PT that I have a problem with. Am in agony for the rest of the day every time I see her. I have requested that They don't schedule me with her anymore but walked in Wed and had her again and again the same problem. There are times that she's stretching my arm that it feels lkike things are popping/tearing. I don't know how to get through to her. Thanks Lily, I appreciate the info.


CAP

[Lilly]

Hi Cap,
I also had one Killer Pt person. She would LAY her weight on my arm to make it move while a lay there kicking, squirming, and sobbing like a baby. One day she forced my arm to move so far that i thought she was breaking my shoulder in slow motion...and I hauled off and kicked her in the guts! GD that hurt! I actually cracked a tooth from clenching my teeth together so hard. They sent me home in tears 3 times a week....and when I got my progress reports...they stated I "winced" with pain. They must justify their existance and so called expertise. I hated that torture chamber (as I called it) and to this day I flip em off every time I drive by!
Take care, Lilly

[Truckster]

SORRY YOUR HAVING PROBLEMS WITH YOUR PT PEOPLE CAP,SOME OF THEM THINK THAT THEY ARE DOCTORS AND ARE NOT...DON'T LET THEM HURT YOU ANY MORE,IF THEY TRY TO SCHEDULE YOU WITH THAT PERSON AGAIN,TELL THEM NO AND THAT YOU NEED TO RESCHEDULE WITH A DIFFERENT PT....THEY SHOULD NOT BE HURTING YOU THAT BAD

[capricorn]

OMG you are both so right. Lily that's what she makes me feel like. As if she's using all of her body weight to tear my shoulder off. And believe me she''s twice my size. I don't think she knows her own strength and also doesn't pay attention to what's she's doing. She's always talking to someone else. My point here is I usually see a PT I saw for my neck for two months. I don't come home in the same shape when I see him and he also stretches my shoulder but doesn't yank at it. When he knows the pain has hit he slackens off. I wouldn't have the ROM I have if I wasn't doing my own exercises and my regular PT wasn't doing his job. I have an appt. tomorrow so think I'll call today and make sure I don't have her tomorrow or I'm cancelling. It's so hard not being able to drive yet, I have to take appt. that I can get and this week happened to be Wed and Friday. Good for you Lily for kicking her. TRUCKSTER, you're right. They think they know everything but yet she couldn't answer my question when I swelled up right in front of her above my collar bone. I know PT hurts, expecially after surgery. It hurts when I do it myself. BUT the patient shouldn't be laying there tossing and turning with tears running down their face and be ignored. She keeps telling me we an't let frozen shoulder set in. I am 5 weeks post surgery, wouldn't that have already happened? I can wash my face now with both hands, so some dishes, get dressed for the most part alone, all except the ever loving bra. I have shown progress. I am afraid she is going to hurt something, if she already hasn't.


CAP

[capricorn]

OMg here I am answering my own self. I have a strained muscle from "aggressive" PT. Now i have to stop all PT until I see the surgeon on the 12th. Talk about a set-back. all because the PT didn't listen. Prescription said "passive" assisted. Why do they think they have to play God and get people well as quickly as possible even if it means hurting them more? Do they get gold stars for this? I am so angry right now i could scream. I did report her.

CAP

[Pooh]

Wow cap - so your one therapist just went overboard and over did it on you.

My therapist, thankfully isn't hurting me, I just finished week 2 of no increase in exercises because pain levels and muscles spasms haven't subsided. Actually since I started the only exercises they have added have been cervical stretches - so 4 weeks of PT and still being able to do the same movements that I could do when I went in.

So not pushing me to do more than I can handle at this point because of the pain, spasms, etc. to bad they don't have a double of her out there - you would love her massages so gentle ....... until she finds the center of the knot.

[capricorn]

Morning pooh.....aren't the muscle spasms horrible. I am so glad they are not making you worse. I went to this facility for 2 months for my neck. Had one or the other PT everytime I went. Loved them both because they listened. The girl was brutal in a massage BUT it helped losssen everything up. The guy was gentler and did more traction with his hands. that helped. When I went back I requested either of them. I had my eval on a Tuesday which was OK. Wasn't twisted around and the Evaluator told me that surgeon said "passive asisted" PT only. Just wanted it to stay loose. The next day I go in and have this woman who I didn't like on sight. She is huge and I could tell she wasn't listening to me or very friendly for that matter. OK , PT's don't have to be friendly. Immediately she puts me on the pully's and tellls me I have to work harder to get the bad arm up higher. I reminded her that I was only 2 weeks post-surgery. when she was done I had to lay still for 10 minutes to control the tears and the pain crippled me. I lightly rubbed the area and found that my collar bone and the area of my neck right above it was blown up like a water baloon. I told her this. She ignored me. My next few session were with the PT I like. I never went hom ein agony or with a swollen collar bone or muscle bulging. The facility decided on their own to switch me to her this past wed. and the same thing happend. I told her again and again she ignored me. While she was twisting and turning my arm she was talking to another patient across the room so I know she wsn't paying attention to her own strength. I winced, yelled, told her she was going to far. She didn't care. I called the facility yesterday and asked them t oplease enver put me with her again. Then I called the surgeon because the muscle was blowing up more. He told me to stop all PT, rest it, ice it , until I see him on the 12th , that what I had was a strained muscle from "Aggressive PT". I was so angry I called the facility back and told them. requested that when I return they never change my PT. Pooh...I know PT hurts. I'm not a "candy %^" BUT when a patient is telling their PT that they're pushing it back too far I feel they should listen. What if she had torn my rotator cuff again? I'm the one who suffers. I feel I am healing well. Have lots more ROM than I had 2 weeks ago. BUT it needs to heal at it's own pace. Does she get a gold star if I heal in 14 weeks instead of 16? Sorry for the letter. It just really pisses me off that now I am set back another 2 weeks in recovery. Still waiting for the Judge's decision. All has been in his hands for about 7 weeks. Attorney told me hopefully in 60 days and the worst case scenerio being 90 days. It's coming up fast.


CAP

[Pooh]

Cap

I hear what you are saying about the therapist and thinking she could change your PT orders and get you healed quicker. Maybe she felt that if she could show more progress than what the doctor was expecting then the office would get more referals from the doctor. Who knows.

Any way, I hope she didn't cause more damage to your shoulder and if she did, I would contact the head of the PT place and let them know that they are responsible for it since they over see her and her performance. Technically, in my opinion, if a therapist, gets out of line, and does more damage and it can be proven then the place of therapy should be responsible for needed surgery etc caused by their therapist.

My therapist sees both sides of WC - you know the good and bad - those that need therapy and have problems with WC and those that don't need it and are milking the system. Plus having her own office means she purchases WC insurance for her office. She has gone to bat against WC IC because of those with shoulder injuries also needing therapy for thier necks - she says very few just have damage to their shoulders alone - meaning that the muscles go into spasms up the neck and down the back - like what both of us have gone through.

I go back on the 19th to the ortho - and therapists feels that their will be at least MRI's to see what is going on inside the shoulder and chest x-rays to make sure the ribs are in alignment at this time. From there she is not sure - her experience is that normally there is surgical intervention - but she says she doesn't feel a 2nd first rib like she does with most that have TOS, and since they know roughly where my damage is on my right side and it's a large nerve area that is damage - it will be hard to transpose a different nerve into it. So may be something I have to live with and just seek therapy on as the pain gets to bad on it to get it back in alignment as best as possible.

I feel sorry for her because she is so confused as what to do for me to help me, but like I told her - I spent 2 hours at a time before in PT trying to get it stabilized and it didn't work and with work hardening and made it to the black band - but never got rid of the pain.