Shoulder ROM improving but new pain occurring?

[New England Babe]

I have a client who has had shoulder pain since April of this year. She originally thought it was from overdoing her weight lifting. The PT says its tenosynovitis in the rt shoulder. She had significant TPs in her subscap, traps and rhomboids. Last time I worked on her (last week) I focused on the rotator cuff muscles, specifically addressing TPs in the subscap. She comes in for her appt and says her ROM has improved but now she has a different pain experience, stabbing, in what looks like her posterior deltoid. Her question to me was "How can I be improving my ROM and then have such extreme pain?" She felt uneasy about having another massage and we agreed to postpone until she had her next PT appt (today). Her primary physician thinks she might have a micro-tear in the rotator cuff.

Any thoughts??

 

[avaaaa]

Clarifying...

I should have stated more clearly whether you all know if this is a common occurrence, i.e,. ROM improves but causes pain in associated musculature? Could it be that now her ROM is better so she is using muscles that have not been "accessed" since her injury?

I appreciate your comments, thanks!

 

[madi]

Clarifying...

Could it be that now her ROM is better so she is using muscles that have not been "accessed" since her injury?

that is entirely possible. or through/by compensation maybe.

i'd want to know which rotator cuff muscle does the doc suspect is micro-torn. that may lead you to better insight.

also, i know there are specific muscle tests, like in touch for health, that will isolate each individual muscle to assess its nature.

 

[Mario]

Thank you, Mush, for your comment!

Gayle

 

[jh4kd]

I agree with mush also...compensation issues are often over looked...