As we head into the Labor Day Weekend here in the States, I want to take time to talk about an important subject. Recently, George Yeung posted a question on the blog asking what he could do to lessen or perhaps cure the acute pain he is having in his right shoulder. He feels the pain is emanating from his rotator cuff area. First off, George, the pain you are feeling is your body telling you that something may be seriously wrong and so you should not let this problem linger. What might be an easy cure now may turn out to be a whole lot more serious if you keep aggravating the injury.
That having been said, if this was happening to me, I would go through an escalating series of treatments to see if I could cure the problem on my own. I would start with alternating sessions of cold and heat, perhaps 5 minutes each. I would try an over-the-counter ointment that delivers heat deep into the muscles too. And since I can well tolerate ibuprofen or acetaminophen, I would also add these to my treatment plan.
If my shoulder didn't respond to this level of treatment in a couple of days, my next step would be to seek professional help. Since I know a number of truly excellent Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists, I would have them check me out. They know a series of simple movements that can diagnose whether someone has a rotator cuff problem or not. If not, they could prescribe a personalized treatment plan that would hopefully resolve the problem.
Finally, if it turns out that none of these steps solved the issue, I would make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon who will do a full work up to determine exactly what is wrong. Obviously, if the damage is severe enough, this could result in shoulder surgery.
So to wrap up, I urge anyone out there with similar acute pains to step up and deal with the issue rather than putting it off. You can do yourself serious harm by hoping that a chronic problem will somehow magically repair itself. None of us like the prospect of undergoing surgery-the thought of undergoing an operation and months of recovery is a daunting thought. But for me, at least, it wouldn't be as scary as getting myself into a position where I had to give up playing golf. That would be a true nightmare!
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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