Concept2 Forum

I have had chronic shoulder pain since a football tackle (American) 20 years ago. I do alot of swimming, weight lifting which aggrevate the condition. Not sure if rowing helps of adds to pain. Anyway, had MRI, came back negative, but i went to a well known shoulder arthroscopic surgeon, and he says it is most likely a labrum tear. Very difficult to prove for sure without arthroscopic look. I tried PT, cortisone many tmes and then stop the activity for months/years, but resuming overhead motion brings back the pain.<br /><br />Anyone ever had torn shoulder labrum? Thanks in advance...

<!--QuoteBegin-gaffano+Jan 19 2006, 02:56 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(gaffano @ Jan 19 2006, 02:56 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I have had chronic shoulder pain since a football tackle (American) 20 years ago. I do alot of swimming, weight lifting which aggrevate the condition. Not sure if rowing helps of adds to pain. Anyway, had MRI, came back negative, but i went to a well known shoulder arthroscopic surgeon, and he says it is most likely a labrum tear. Very difficult to prove for sure  without arthroscopic look.  I tried PT, cortisone many tmes and then stop the activity for months/years, but resuming overhead motion brings back the pain.<br /><br />Anyone ever had torn shoulder labrum? Thanks in advance... <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />I've had a different shoulder problem. Here's a thread I ran across where several people discuss their experiences. <a href='http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a ... _id=000dtV' target='_blank'>http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a ... dtV</a><br /><br />Where are you? People on the forum may be able to refer you to a reputable doc for another opinion if they know your location. (That's not to suggest that your first doc is wrong, simply that two looks may be better than one.)<br /><br />Good luck.

Gaffano,<br /><br />In our clinic we see 15-20 SLAP tears per week. Regular MRIs have some difficulty picking up these injuries, but an MRI arthrogram (MRI done with dye injected into the sholder) will show close to 99% of the tears. These structures are donut shaped gaskets that adhere to the glenoid (the shoulder socket). They have a very poor blood supply and thus do not heal well with exercise or injections. These injuries are missed way too often, leaving people with chronic shoulder pain and ultimately, shoulder arthritis. A good fellowship trained shoulder guy should be able to repair these tears thru an arthroscope - the problem is that even after repair, recovery is a solid 3-4 months before much activity can be entertained with the shoulder. If you like, I'm sure that one of my partners or I would know of a reputable shoulder surgeon in your area, if you need a referral - BUT it sounds like you may have laready seen a good guy, if he came up with the SLAP diagnosis.<br /><br />Good luck,<br /><br />Prairiefire

Prairefire..thanks ...I sent you a PM. I am assuming you are a Dr? Anyway I also wanted to ask you if you have seen both short term and long term success from this arthroscopic SLAP procedure? I have read feedback on other forums in which patients feel good like a year after. I am worried that by "cleaning up" the tear I will be making the joint more suseptible to future injuries.

Gaffano,<br /><br />Yep, I'm a sports med doc. With very few exceptions, I have seen very good results with arthroscopic SLAP tear repair - but it does depend upon the skill and type of surgical procedure used. There are 5 types of SLAP tears and each is treated slightly differently. Many surgeons are not skilled at repairing the posterior portion of the SLAP tear and that often leaves the athlete in some chronic pain. One of my partners trained under Jimmy Andrews in Birmingham and the things he learned about shoulders is absolutely amazing. If you like, we could review your MRI and give you an opinion (no charge of course) about our suggestions for treatment and you can then compare that to Dr. Levy's recommendation. Please be assured that I am NOT trying to drum up business.<br />Just want to see a fellow erger get a great result.<br /><br />Prairiefire

I hurt my shoulder about 7 years ago playing golf (yes, golf). Left shoulder on the backswing. I never got it checked out. Always had a nagging pain on and off, nothing showstopping.<br /><br />Fastforward to last Tuesday: Doing heavy benchpress, get up and can't lift my shoulder after the last set. Hurt alot for a day, or a day and a half. On Sunday I went jogging and was stretching my calf (lean against a wall type stretch) and it hurt again about the same as the benchpress incident. This tells me it's a pressure thing not necessarily the motion of a benchpress.<br /><br />Anyway, went to a sports medicine doc today. X-rays and various movement/poking/press here/does this hurt. He says he thinks it is a Labrum tear. His treatment was cortisone, said if it wasn't better in 7-10 days I'd the the dye MRI. Now, from what I've read since then is that treating a labrum tear with cortisone is like putting a bandaid on a shotgun wound...<br /><br />So, now that my cortisone is in, the poking/prodding/does this hurt business won't work. Can I go to a second doctor and automatically get the MRI?<br /><br />Oh, and I guess my real reason for posting was to see if there was a doc recommended in Houston, TX. My insurance company can't tell me if anyone specializes in shoulders(they don't have that information?!?).<br /><br /><br />Thanks in advance.

<!--QuoteBegin-Mozelstein+Jan 31 2006, 06:11 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Mozelstein @ Jan 31 2006, 06:11 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Oh, and I guess my real reason for posting was to see if there was a doc recommended in Houston, TX.  My insurance company can't tell me if anyone specializes in shoulders(they don't have that information?!?). <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />There ought to be someone in Houston. There sure are enough medical facilities there. If not, then drive on up to Austin. Kalin Kelso and Edward Seade both have good reputations. (I saw Dr. Kelso for my shoulder.) Maybe one of them would refer you to someone in Houston.<br /><br />

My suggestion - see if you can find out who does shoulders for the Astros (Houston's baseball team). They ought to have someone local, at least for those not named Clemens or Petitte. After battling shoulder issues a few years back, I strongly suggest finding someone with a sports medicine background. It can be like night and day how they approach a diagnosis and solution.

<!--QuoteBegin-phowd+Feb 1 2006, 08:55 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(phowd @ Feb 1 2006, 08:55 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->My suggestion - see if you can find out who does shoulders for the Astros (Houston's baseball team). They ought to have someone local, at least for those not named Clemens or Petitte. After battling shoulder issues a few years back, I strongly suggest finding someone with a sports medicine background. It can be like night and day how they approach a diagnosis and solution. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Super good idea. I figured with all the sports teams we have, there have to be some good ones in town. I guess alot of it is who's on my insurance, etc...<br /><br /><!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->There ought to be someone in Houston. There sure are enough medical facilities there. If not, then drive on up to Austin. Kalin Kelso and Edward Seade both have good reputations. (I saw Dr. Kelso for my shoulder.) Maybe one of them would refer you to someone in Houston. </td></tr></table><br /><br />I might try to look them up and see if they have suggestions. Thanks.

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->The Baylor Sports Medicine Institute (BSMI) consists of seven orthopedic surgeons, each specialty trained in Sports Medicine. The Institute is unique in that it provides nationally and internationally recognized state of the art treatment for athletic injuries in combination with top flight research and educational facilities. The physicians in the Institute are all full-time faculty at the Baylor College of Medicine in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. They are all active in the teaching of medical students, as well as training orthopedic residents, Sports Medicine Fellows, in addition to orthopedic surgeons already in practice who wish to obtain an update in their sophisticated techniques. Many international surgeons come to BSMI to learn new skills and techniques.<br /><br />The physicians of the Institute are all experienced clinicians and are the team physicians for the <b>Houston Texans, Houston Astros, Houston Rockets, Houston Comets</b>, Houston Energy, University of Houston, and Texas Southern University. Each physician is also the team physician for local high schools and all provide care to injured athletes of all ages. </td></tr></table><br /><br />From talking to the people in appointments it seems that there is a Dr. Lowe, Dr. Paulos, and a Dr. Maphet (I'm not sure of the spelling of any of these) that all come highly reguarded for shoulder work.<br /><br />I couldn't get an appointment with Lowe until March so I'm checking on the others.