Shoulder Bone Spurs

Have a small bump on the right shoulder bone, causing some minor pain both when contacted (like from a pack strap) and when using the shoulder. Had an appointment with my ortho guy for another injury (left collarbone among others) so I asked him about it and he said most likely bone spur, and that it may be the "tip of the iceburg". Scheduled an MRI which confirmed his suspicions, bone spurs in the joint which are impinging on the rotator cuff and tendons. Says surgery is the only real solution, although its not immediately necessary. Some risk of further damage to the rotator cuff though by not doing surgery. 4-6 week recovery isn't bad, but I've just gotten back in shape from this summers wreck and not looking forward to more downtime. I have met all my deductibles and copays for the year, so there's one incentive to get it done now.

Anyone been through this? Haven't found any internet suggestions for non-surgical improvement, but maybe there's something?

Thanks

A lot of folks confuse the cause-effect relationship between their injury and bone spurs. Almost always the bone growth is caused by persistent stress or irritation in the joint. Once there, it can cause further harm by impinging on tissues or altering mechanics in some way. For this reason it often makes sense to remove the bone spur, but you must also address what caused the bone spur to form in the first place.

For shoulders I would guess the most common root cause would be poor mechanics from a slumped posture or weak rotator cuff. Certainly no harm in addressing these types of things before surgery.

Good thoughts. 25 years of swinging a hammer might have something to do with it.

Got a PT appointment Monday to talk about those kind of things.

Did your doc say where the impingement is occurring? I had one under the acromium that was turning the supraspinatus into shredded crab meat. My Grandpa, Dad and Brother all had the same problem, so maybe genetics involved. Got it removed as part of a major RC repair. All good now

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Originally Posted by telebobski

Did your doc say where the impingement is occurring? I had one under the acromium that was turning the supraspinatus into shredded crab meat. My Grandpa, Dad and Brother all had the same problem, so maybe genetics involved. Got it removed as part of a major RC repair. All good now

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I have something very similar.How long a recovery till skiing?

4-6 weeks if things go well. Hopeful that he won't have to do any Rotator
Cuff repair, just clean out the bone spurs and some rough edges. If repair is necessary, then more like 4 months. Surgery scheduled for the 30th.

I had rotator cuff surgery in oct of 2013. Woke up in the recovery room and found out I had joint micro fracture done since there was no cartilage and spur and impingement reduction. recovery was a bitch, but it is doing ok now. I only skinned until March, and then skied cautiously using the lifts. Most of the pain was rotator cuff related.

Mine ended up going pretty well, no cuff damage. They did take out about 2cm off the end of my clavicle, which is where the bone spurs were. Still sore, but I've started touring and skate skiing after about a month.