Mom is in constant shoulder pain, waking hours as well as sleeping hours. Takes as much oral meds as possible and does not get any relief. She has had a series of cordizone injections a number of times, she has had lidacaine patches, all without success. Are there any new, experimental therapies that are looking positive. We figure not much could hurt at this point because she is always in pain. eg. botox injections. any thoughts, Please help!
Q: 79 year old Mother with chronic osteoarthitic shoulder pain. All typical treatments have not helped
Answers (2)
4/ 7/10 5:09pm
Shoulder can get quite painful towards the end of life. Such an important joint for daily living activities like feeding and dressing, the shoulders are critical for maintaining independence.
Oral anti-inflammatories can pose so many risks of bleeding; thus, I turn to topical anti-inflammatories for my elderly patients like Voltaren Gel or the Flector patch. Both are fairly new prescription strength anti-inflammatories that work well on painful, worn-out joints.
Dr. Christina Lasich, MD
7/31/10 7:39pm
As a physical therapist I would also recommend PT. The shoulder relies on stability via the rotator cuff muscles. If the muscles are weak the shoulder will move abnormally, contributing to pain. I would also highly recommend ice (no heat!). Apply the ice to the shoulder, 10 minutes at a time a few times a day.
A last resort option is a shoulder replacement. Because this is not a common surgery you would want to find an orthopedic doctor that specializes in the shoulder. For more information on this surgery you can visit:
http://www.joint-pain-solutions.com/shoulder-replacement-surgery.html
Good luck.
~JTrempe PT, ATC
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By Lauren Schwartz— Last Modified: 12/27/10, First Published: 04/05/10
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