Shoulder Injury

[Swordsworn]

About 2 years ago I injured my shoulder rather badly. When I went to the doctors they were not able to find anything wrong. I was in extreme pain and my shoulder kept sliding partially out of the socket. The doctors actually had the nerve to suggest tha I was making it up. Nothing showed up on MRIs or X-Rays. I recently came across an article that explained what might be wrong with my shoulder. That is to say, I have stretched ligaments, but none of them are torn, which is why nothing showed up on the MRIs or X-Rays. There is a new proceedure called electrothermal arthroscopy that shrinks the collagen in the ligaments causing the ligaments to shrink back into place. Has anyone heard about this and/or had this proceedure done. How safe is it?


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"The sword isn't our lives, it just keeps us alive for the really good parts" - Graham Ashe

[foiled again]

Haven't heard of that but it sounds interesting. I hurt my shoulder fairly badly 2 years ago and nobody mentioned that technique. I went to several specialists so maybe it wasn't known yet. What ligaments did you tear? My clavicle protrudes from my shoulder a bit due to 2 ruptered ligaments. Not sure that would even help me. I do know that they are able to transplant ligaments from somewhere else. Some ligaments (at least one from the scapula) are primarily needed early during skeletal development to keep the shoulder in proper form. In adults, they serve little purpose. They offered to cut these out and transplant them for me to replace my torn ligaments. Unfortunately, the success rate rarely exceeds the non-surgical rate unless your injury is very serious. Plus, I'm not sure they typically use it for the humerus.

Igor

[Lumberg]

You should check with a specialist in sports medicine injuries, like an orthopedic surgeon. If you've already been to one, try to find another one (at a different facility).

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Lumberg.
"...ahhh, we have sort of a problem here... yeah, you apparently didn't put one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report"

[thebigriddle]

I heard a story once that a saber fencer broke his opponents shoulder during a bout. He did a beat coupe and came down really hard that was in the days your could fleche.

[micromarty]

The rotator cuff of my weapon arm was torn while diving for third base in the off season. Teach me. I was out so long... Even after healing and physical therapy with an exercise physiologist, it was a very long time before I had the strength to hold the weapon up and right. My flexibility in that shoulder wasn't great for quite a while. Even today it sparks up from time to time.
My past woe. Good luck my friend.

[This message has been edited by micromarty (edited 04-22-2001).]

[This message has been edited by micromarty (edited 04-22-2001).]