Is there a doc in the house!

[Wes201]

So i screwed up my shoulder a few weeks ago at the gym. It's been hurting a lot but i just been dealing with it as best i can. Somedays i can go to the gym and push through it and somedays i just hurts to much and i'll have just stick with doing legs and abs, something that doesnt require me to put a lot of stress on my left arm/shoulder. Well, anyway i finally got the xray results in the mail today and it says
"Flattening of humeral head evident" - "concave appearance to the bony glenoid suggesting dysplasia" - "acromioclavicular joint appears unremarkable"
IMPRESSION: Dysplastic left shoulder joint

I have absolutly no idea what this means. I've been advised to follow up with orthopedic specialist but i dont have insurance and money is very tight. Does anybody know really just how big of a deal this really is? If it is something that will heal itself in time? Should i stop lifting immeadiatly?

[jseek]

Dysplasia is abnormal growth. At this point...
1) either you've had it all ur life. You are 38 and from your story you've been busy in life and this if the first time you've hurt yourself. Treat it like a rotator cuff strain, treatment for which has stickies on this site. Ice shoulder lots. Rest from what u did to hurt it. Start doing rotator cuff / shoulder stabilizing exercises...and probably lay low on shoulder press type over head stuff for the foreseeable future. Get a massage to shoulder to reduce muscle spasm. Gently stretch it out. Ur shoulder is a bit loose, the different bony changes on X-ray puts a stress on areas of the joint that may make occasional joint steeling pain come/go. The rotator cuff stuff should help. Avoid heavy stuff for a while
2) follow current dr advice
3) other issues that don't need to be addressed in depth as you didn't point out severe trauma or other issues (lessens risk of a avascular necrosis or other worrisome stuff).
See how rest, ice, massage, stretching (pain free) and rotator cuff exercises help over the next few weeks
Other people on this forum can post about nutritional ideas.
Good luck & keep is posted!

[jseek]

Addendum...the socket in the ball & socket shoulder joint is the glenoid. Your upper arm "ball" apparently was okay.
If the glenoid is flatter, the there is less joint stability meaning that the muscular/ligament stability is what you need to focus on.
This like a cartilage labrum helps to stabilize the joint and increase the socket depth...but in your case -labrum tends to get stressed because the socket is shallow...
Just means you need to train smart. Learn on this site!

[Wes201]

Thanks for the response. Actually now i do believe this has always been there. It all started from taking a hit on the H.S. football field 20 years ago. My coach told me it was most likely a pinched nerve and i blew it off and never got checked out. Over the years i would always go on and off my workout/health kicks and it would only hurt during those periods off time when i stressed it by working out, otherwise i would often forget about it when i was not doing any training. So no, this is definatly not the first time or an isolated incident, But this episode is definatly the most severe as far as pain in concerened, thats why i went for xrays. After reading your response and thinking back in time i am convinced that i have had this problem all my life, (or at least 20 years).......The abnormal growth thing makes scense now because my right shoulder trap and delt is nice and defined and my left shoulder is just puffy. Smooth and round with no defination......Is there something that can or will correct this problem?

[jseek]

Stability training / rotator cuff stuff is your friend
Limit elevating your should above s certain point for now (as in don't raise your elbow over your shoulder)...your shoulder is weak, probably gets close to dislocating, and irritates the shoulder. Time will tell depending on your rotator cuff strengthening...and how you can control the position of that shoulder.
If you haven't been focusing on rotator cuff stuff...then you can make fair gains in the time to come...
And try to ignore the call of surgery. Because if you start looking for surgery -you will always find it!

[Wes201]

Stability training / rotator cuff stuff is your friend
Limit elevating your should above s certain point for now (as in don't raise your elbow over your shoulder)...your shoulder is weak, probably gets close to dislocating, and irritates the shoulder. Time will tell depending on your rotator cuff strengthening...and how you can control the position of that shoulder.
If you haven't been focusing on rotator cuff stuff...then you can make fair gains in the time to come...
And try to ignore the call of surgery. Because if you start looking for surgery -you will always find it!

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond. I appreciate the advice, and will definately take you up on it

[lovbyts]

Addendum...the socket in the ball & socket shoulder joint is the glenoid. Your upper arm "ball" apparently was okay.
If the glenoid is flatter, the there is less joint stability meaning that the muscular/ligament stability is what you need to focus on.
This like a cartilage labrum helps to stabilize the joint and increase the socket depth...but in your case -labrum tends to get stressed because the socket is shallow...
Just means you need to train smart. Learn on this site!

Stability training / rotator cuff stuff is your friend
Limit elevating your should above s certain point for now (as in don't raise your elbow over your shoulder)...your shoulder is weak, probably gets close to dislocating, and irritates the shoulder. Time will tell depending on your rotator cuff strengthening...and how you can control the position of that shoulder.
If you haven't been focusing on rotator cuff stuff...then you can make fair gains in the time to come...
And try to ignore the call of surgery. Because if you start looking for surgery -you will always find it!

Good advise above. I had surgery a little over 6 months ago. Still recovering but it was needed, last resort.
If it was not mentioned also use ice on it as often as possible. 20-30 min on, 30 min off. Repeat 3x in a row and 3x a day. i helps a lot especially when it's sore. Use it after every workout until it's 100% better.

You can work on the stability with bands and light cable work also. It's a must for recovery.

[calstate23]

So i screwed up my shoulder a few weeks ago at the gym. It's been hurting a lot but i just been dealing with it as best i can. Somedays i can go to the gym and push through it and somedays i just hurts to much and i'll have just stick with doing legs and abs, something that doesnt require me to put a lot of stress on my left arm/shoulder. Well, anyway i finally got the xray results in the mail today and it says
"Flattening of humeral head evident" - "concave appearance to the bony glenoid suggesting dysplasia" - "acromioclavicular joint appears unremarkable"
IMPRESSION: Dysplastic left shoulder joint

I have absolutly no idea what this means. I've been advised to follow up with orthopedic specialist but i dont have insurance and money is very tight. Does anybody know really just how big of a deal this really is? If it is something that will heal itself in time? Should i stop lifting immeadiatly?

Posts like this is why I just started this tread....An x-ray isn't going to do crap for you..You need an MRI and I great doctor, a specialist

Guide - what to do when you get an injury
I just posted this almost word for word to someone in another thread...I see this question a lot so I thought I would also start a thread...

First off, you are INJURED...STOP working out...If it truly hurts DO NOT try to push through the pain...You will just make your injury worse..Talk to the doctor, get a diagnosis and go from there...Most of us are not doctors so don't assume you know what is wrong.


Secondly, 98% of the time we get an injury we need to see an ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON. Someone that SPECIALIZES in the area of our injury...DO NOT GO TO A GENERAL PRACTITIONER, you will just waste your time and money...You have a stuffy nose, THEN go to your general practitioner...

Before the next step, I also want to point out something important - GET AN MRI! I see SO MANY guys on here say they are injured yet they haven't even got an MRI or know what's wrong...Bottom line, you can't fix your injury if you don't know what is wrong! If your doctor doesn't request an MRI, ask for one yourself..

Now to the good part, the part that will help you the most in finding a good doctor and getting treated... Let's create a HYPOTHETICAL situation...Let's say your shoulder is giving you problems....

Go to google and type in "Team Physician for what ever Professional sports team is closest in your area"...

For instance, if you lived in San Francisco you would type in "Team Physician for San Francisco 49ers"......Or if you have an option, you might want to pick a team that might specialize in an area that better suits your needs...For instance, you might want to type in "Team Physician for San Francisco Giants" since they probably deal with more shoulder injuries...etc.

In this case, Gary Fanton pops up saying he is the Team Physician in Orthopedics for the San Francisco 49ers...Then you click on the website to the clinic he works at....Which is Stanford Hospital and Clinics and then you make an appointment....

What you've just done is not ONLY found the CORRECT doctor for your type of injury (Not some general practice idiot) but also the BEST one probably in your county...

GOOD LUCK

P.S. - For those of you who are extremely far from a professional sports team and do not want to travel that far or do not have enough money you can type in "Team Physician for your local biggest college sports team" (Aka - "Team Physician for UCLA BRUINS"...That should suffice

[lovbyts]

And for best results you need an MRI with Contrast dye.