Sugar shots!

[Pony]

Ive been seeing a sports doctor recently for my shoulder. He says I have super scapula (???) neurosis (ive definitely messed up this diagnosis), anyways the nerve in my shoulder is getting pinched from the surrounding muscle and my whole arm winds up going dead. Well it did. Since my job is very physical and taking a few weeks off means getting laid off, my doctor started giving me shots along the nerve. Shots consist of dextrose, and a numbing agent. I get a little sore now, but I dont go dead at all and the pain is subsiding with great speed (already had 2 sessions and more that 50% of the pain is gone). Does anyone know of this treatment? If so how well did it work for you, and how long do the results last?

 

[MrSaturatedFat]

my sugar shots consist of 1 large granny smith apple.

 

[dave 236]

Ive been seeing a sports doctor recently for my shoulder. He says I have super scapula (???) neurosis (ive definitely messed up this diagnosis), anyways the nerve in my shoulder is getting pinched from the surrounding muscle and my whole arm winds up going dead. Well it did. Since my job is very physical and taking a few weeks off means getting laid off, my doctor started giving me shots along the nerve. Shots consist of dextrose, and a numbing agent. I get a little sore now, but I dont go dead at all and the pain is subsiding with great speed (already had 2 sessions and more that 50% of the pain is gone). Does anyone know of this treatment? If so how well did it work for you, and how long do the results last?

The term is actually suprascapular neuroitis (neuroses is a mental illness).It sounds like you have an inflamation of one of the nerves of your brachial plexus-in this case the suprascapular nerve which innervates the supraspinaus and infraspinatus muscles of the rotator cuff. It would seem that your doctor is treating you w/ triggerpoint injections of lidocaine(the d5 dextrose is just filler--i know some docs who use b12 in there injects the same way)there are exercises and ways that you can palpate trigger points yourself which brings some relief and isnt nearly as expensive. google trigger point massage and you should get an idea about where to start.

 

[Pony]

The term is actually suprascapular neuroitis (neuroses is a mental illness).It sounds like you have an inflamation of one of the nerves of your brachial plexus-in this case the suprascapular nerve which innervates the supraspinaus and infraspinatus muscles of the rotator cuff. It would seem that your doctor is treating you w/ triggerpoint injections of lidocaine(the d5 dextrose is just filler--i know some docs who use b12 in there injects the same way)there are exercises and ways that you can palpate trigger points yourself which brings some relief and isnt nearly as expensive. google trigger point massage and you should get an idea about where to start.

Yes, I knew I was lost on the name, thanks. I just went to see my doctor last night and we decided not to continue with the shots on a regular schedule and just go with them as needed and when I'm done with work ill do some physical therapy. There are posture problems that help make this problem worse as well that need to be addressed. I just can't believe what great results I've gotten from the shots, do you know what exactly how they work? I can feel (or can't feel for that matter) that there's no pain in places where we've put more injections. As if the nerve has been deadened, so my arm doesn't just fail me when its been overextended for a small amount of time, as it had when I initially saw my doc.

 

[dave 236]

The lidocaine in the injections does temporarily deaden the nerve just as when you go to the dentist. But the injections mainly work in the same way accupuncture or accupressure work. trigger points are basically nerve endings that cause whats known as referred pain (just like a heart attack causes pain in the shoulder). Your peripheral nervous system sends a signal to your central nervous system, which in turn interprets it and sends a response. In the case of referred pain the response or indication that somrthing is wrong is sent to a site different than where the actual stimulus originated.If you find the points that are the origin of the pain and massage or treat them in some way you will notice an almost immediate relief from the pain.Sorry if i'm long winded but I hope this helps.

 

[Chimaltrufio]

yep. be carefull with that, you should see a second doctor, just in case...

 

[fufu]

I'd be wary if the doctor wasn't trying to resolve the issue, but rather mask the symptoms with numbing agents.

If the problem is caused by soft tissue pathology (dysfunctional muscles causing impingement), then physical and/or manual therapy may be a good route for you.


But remember, I'm not a doctor and you definitely want a trained professional to assess you (in person).