Shoulder pain

paully

HI, first time posting, I think I've got arthritis in my shoulder, it keeps me awake at night. I do the shoulder exercises from versus arthritis on tube, and am going to physio, I take cocodomol (30's) but that seems to have stopped working.

Any advice please.

Naomi33

Hello @paully and welcome to the online community.

Sorry to hear your concerns about your shoulder. Have you spoken to doctor or consultant for stronger to discuss further and maybe get better medication???

Have your tried a 'V' shaped pillow ?? this helped me for a while in the past.

Best wishes @Naomi33

helpline_team

Hi @paully

Thank you for posting and welcome to the helpline online community. I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing shoulder problems. It is good that you are doing the shoulder exercises from Versus Arthritis. These exercises can reduce pain, improve your muscle strength and keep your joints strong and well-supported which also helps with staying independent. Most shoulder problems will benefit from physiotherapy so it is good news that you are already receiving support from a Physiotherapist.

You say that you think you may have arthritis in your shoulder and that Co-codamol is no longer working. There are different types of arthritis, and the treatment options can be different depending on which is diagnosed.

Most shoulder problems only affect a small area and should last a relatively short time. But sometimes the problem in your shoulder could be part of a wider, long-term condition such as, osteoarthritis or polymyalgia rheumatica. It’s fairly common for people with rheumatoid arthritis to have pain and swelling in their shoulders. Osteoarthritis is less likely to affect your shoulders than other joints, unless you’ve injured them in the past.

There are also several other possible causes of shoulder pain and getting the right treatment for your condition as early as possible is important. We would therefore recommend that you seek a diagnosis from your Health Care Professionals as early as possible.

You may find the following page on our website helpful:  

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/shoulder-pain/

You may find it helpful to also put your post on our Living with arthritis — Versus Arthritis discussion area, which is a supportive space where you can ask questions and share experiences with others. You are also welcome to call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 weekdays 9am - 6pm if you would like to talk things through informally and in confidence.

Best wishes

Helen

Helpline Advisor