Shoulder problem and what to tell my doctor

[RasmusR]

hi everyone,

Reading this forum I've come to understand that you need an MRI to get a proper diagnosis for shoulder pain, but how do you argue that you need to get an MRI?

my doctor so far prescribed an X-ray and an ultrasound from which they concluded it was shoulder impingement, I'm to discuss treatment next week and I'm fairly sure they'll prescribe eight weeks of physiotherapy and rotator-cuff exercises, I want to ask for an MRI but right now my only argument is "Starting Strength Forum told me so" which should be good enough but I'm afraid will get rejected.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You only have one doctor? Are you incarcerated?

[RasmusR]

Sadly yes, "Free health care" in Denmark means you get assigned a doctor and you get whatever they tell you.

It takes several months to change to a new clinic, which I've done several times, the one I have now is the most flexible one yet as he at least graced me with an ultrasound.

I do plan on eventually leaving for the great state of Texas but until then I'd love to continue pressing.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Post a video of your presses.

[dalan]

Sadly yes, "Free health care" in Denmark means you get assigned a doctor and you get whatever they tell you.

It takes several months to change to a new clinic, which I've done several times, the one I have now is the most flexible one yet as he at least graced me with an ultrasound.

I do plan on eventually leaving for the great state of Texas but until then I'd love to continue pressing.

There are a lot of people in the states that need to see your comment.

I work with a guy whose shoulder was killing him. We have a job that requires a lot of lifting and he could barely use it. He went to a doctor and they x-rayed it, decided he had arthritis or some shit and gave him a cortisone injection which didn't help at all. A few weeks later he went back saying the injection didn't help so they finally sent him to get an MRI. Turns out his shoulder was barely hanging on by a thread. It was all kinds of fucked up. He ended up having surgery to repair it. Why they didn't set him up with an MRI right off the bat is beyond me.

I don't know the extent of the pain you're in but if it's a true injury and not a technique problem or just a temporary ding that happens to most everyone eventually, you need an MRI to accurately diagnose it.

Good luck. I hope you get it sorted.

[RasmusR]

Thanks for the fast reply, here's the video:

Overhead press form check - YouTube

Pressing doesn't hurt too bad even at "heavier" weight, my current work set would be 130 lbs, however any front raise motion, bench press or incline press hurts.

I did the Bill Starr protocol for 3 weeks in December with the overhead press, warming up the shoulder with hangs and pulldowns first, my shoulder got a lot better but once I resumed normal programming (novice progression with no bench) it started getting worse again.

Would appreciate your advise on how to best proceed

[Mark Rippetoe]

These are not textbook presses, but an empty-bar set of 10 tells us nothing. What happens when you do 3x5 at weight?

[RasmusR]

Thanks. Went back over the videos, made some adjustments and added some weight (110 lbs):

Overhead Press form check w. Weight - YouTube

Update from the doctor: based on the x-ray and ultrasound saying it's impingement he's proposing either 10 days of ibuprofen or a cortisone shot and then seeing a physiotherapist.

Thoughts? If I need an MRI what can I tell them might be overlooked from just the x-ray and ultrasound?

[Mark Rippetoe]

There's nothing terribly wrong with these presses. How bad does it hurt? Is it keeping you awake all night?

[Satch12879]

What does your squat grip look like?