In Reply to: Anyone ever have a rotator cuff tear? posted by sm on Wed, Jan 25 2023 at 03:40 PM CST:
Never had a RCT but have had bursitis more than I care to remember. And OH MY it can hurt. A couple of times I went to the doc just sure I had a tear and was told it was "simple" bursitis ... simple for them to diagnosis, but painful for me!
With no experience I would think that a tear would be from a traumatic injury, even if from age that made it weak. Certainly you should have it checked out. Yes, you can live with a tear but it will restrict you as it heals and without treatment you will lose strength/motion forever.
So, I used to get bursitis too often and it was painful. Once it was so bad and I took Aleve for the pain and ended up in the ER because apparently I am allergic to naproxen (first time using it). They treated my anaphylaxis and then also gave me a shot for the shoulder pain ... slept for two days!
Now I don't take anything for pain, other than baby aspirin for my heart. Maybe there are drugs I could use, but I am afraid of the drug allergy again and doc agrees it isn't worth the risk. I miss NDAIDS ... old age requires drugs!
Next time I had pain DH bought me CDB oil, which just burned and smelled. Then he bought some Australian oil that helped a bit, but not enough and it was expensive.
Doc referred me to Arnica Gel. It is oily and grainy and a bit smelly but it does work. It doesn't work for immediate pain, but after a few times it starts to help and then it helps more and it did take care of the pain in less than a week..
I still use the cheap OTC pain oils at times, but they aren't as good at my age as when I was younger. I do use ice packs more than before. Heat feels better for a moment, but as soon as I take it off the pain comes back.
Back to Arnica, I buy it from CVS, but probably available many places (OTC, so even on line). I now use it regularly for my arthritis and other things that happen as a Senior. Worth a try to buy you some time until you can get to the doc ...
Good luck to you!