I was in an auto accident on 09/29 and was hit on a driver s side of driver s side. Since then, I have not been able to reach behind my back or lift my left arm over my head. Opening doors and lifting/carrying things like a milk carton is very painful, and the pain tends to burn from my back left shoulder all the way to my elbow. Is this a torn muscle and should I get an MRI? Currently, my insurance is only allowing Physical Therapy and it is not improving.
Hello, It looks from your details that most probably you may be suffering from tendinitis of shoulder muscle. You should do following to have relief in this:- Take a good analgesic like ibuprofen. In such cases I generally prescribe diclofenac sodium in twice a day dose.- Do warm fomentation over shoulder with warm water bag for at least 3 times a day.- Take assistance of a physiotherapist.- There are some exercises like pendulum exercises for shoulder, which are helpful in this condition. This may take about 3-4 months for complete recovery with physio. If even after all these efforts it continues to be there then you may have an MRI to get it completely evaluated. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. 