Women Swollen Shoulder

[hearts_and_stars]

DD (11) has a swollen shoulder (it's on her back between the base of her neck and her shoulder). She's not in excruciating pain, just a lot of discomfort. I have been alternating ice and heat, massaging the area (I do feel a bit of a knot, but it's more puffy than hard), and giving her anti-inflammatories. Is there something else I should do? I am trying to avoid a trip to the doctor, but will take her if I need to...I'm hoping this is nothing more than an overuse/repetition injury that will heal on its own.

 

[profmom]

Take her to the doctor. Better a few weeks off than a few months plus surgery.

 

[skschlag]

Does she move it ok? D has had several shoulder issues, one was a pretty bad injury, the rest are usually just overuse on rings or soemthing like that. TIger Balm helps a lot when it is just sore muscles. When it was truly injured, he couldn't raise it up, put any weight on it, hang from it, etc.

I would make a quick trip to the doc. It could be in her neck, shoulder, back, etc. Better safe than sorry!

 

[hearts_and_stars]

She has no movement limitations and says it is only mildly uncomfortable when she uses it. She has no trouble tumbling or swinging bars (at least none that I've noticed and she's not said it interferes). She doesn't complain about stiffness or tightness--just that it aches. She has never had an injury doing gymnastics (other than minor bruises) so I'm in unknown territory with this.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

Swelling = trip to the doctor. Inflammation or release of fluid into spaces where it should not be are indicators of injury. As the others have said, much much better a trip to the doctor now which may avoid lengthier rehab later.

 

[sce]

Swelling = trip to the doctor. Inflammation or release of fluid into spaces where it should not be are indicators of injury. As the others have said, much much better a trip to the doctor now which may avoid lengthier rehab later.

I agree. It's great that she has no movement limitations and only minor discomfort when using it. Get it checked now, as it could become more serious.

 

[hearts_and_stars]

Just made an appointment for DD with her pedi for tomorrow afternoon....Hopefully it is nothing major.

 

[profmom]

Do you have the option to go straight to an orthopedist, or do you need a referral? I've found that with gym injuries, it's sometimes better to start with an orthopedic practice, but fortunately our insurance lets us go without a referral. I also hope it's nothing significant and that a little time off puts her right quickly!

 

[hearts_and_stars]

Our insurance does not allow for specialists without a referral....however, the pedi did not think it was anything more than an overused muscle. He said because the lump (for lack of a better word) is on top of her muscle and not on her bone, he didn't think scans were necessary. He sent her home with a regimen of ice, heat, and topical ointment and gave her a referral to a massage therapist (who, I am hoping, will be covered by her insurance. How much do they cost, anyway??). He also told her that other than swinging bars he did not see any reason for her to skip gym, with the asterisk that if it starts bothering her she needs to stop. He made her a follow up appointment for Tuesday morning...If nothing has changed (or, God forbid, it has gotten worse) he'll give her the referral for a specialist. At this point he seems to think it is nothing more than a knotted up muscle resulting from repetition and overuse.