Yikes

After a couple of weeks of physiotherapy I went to the clinic for an ultasound.

I stripped to the waste, and after applying goo, they ran the ultrasound wand thingy to reveal the inner workings of my shoulder. (Same device they use on pregnant women.)

Sure enough, we could see the two layers of muscle on the top of my shoulder. As I lifted my arm we could see them sliding over one another. Then, with my elbow just below shoulder height they stop. Lock. That is the joint seizing.

Just the same, I could still lift it further. However that isn't the joint at work; what I'm doing is shifting the whole structure around the shoulder. It's surprising how much you can move your upper arm without actually rotating at the joint. Looking in the mirror as I do this makes it very obvious. This is what Feng calls cheating.

The referral said 'Cortisone injection if indicated'. It was, so I prepared myself for a needle inserted into the joint. Well it wasn't too bad until I let out a small ooch!

'That was the bone', she said.

Oh. Okay. So she injects cortisone plus anaesthetic. Then followed by 20ml saline fluid, which she tells me helps to loosen the joint. The doctor admits this treatment will not cure my problem, but it ought to relieve the symptoms a little.

$390 poorer and a few minutes later I'm off, moderately confident it's done some good. The saline fluid causes an odd, slightly bloated sensation.

Now, about 6 weeks later I doubt that it did much at all. But at least I'm am now certain of the diagnosis.

Also news is that I appear to have no soft tissue damage. More on that later.