@suzanne2 I do know shoulder pain too. I had a SLAP tear from reaching behind me from the driver's seat of my car and yanking on something in the back seat. That was painful, and so was the physical therapy. It was only after weeks of pain that they did an MRI and found the tear. At another time, my other shoulder developed some instability and it was going too far forward in the socket. It hurt to put on a jacket and try to get my arm into the sleeve. I saw an orthopedic doc who did an MRI after injecting gadolinium into the shoulder capsule. The imaging showed that the shape of the labrum was a bit different from being squashed by the head of the humerous moving abnormally. However, that injection created an even bigger problem because my shoulder socket became inflamed and any movement of my arm hurt. It even hurt to breathe because of the slight motion of the shoulder. All I could do was put my arm in a sling for a couple months and wait for the inflammation to subside, then I had a frozen shoulder and needed a couple months of physical therapy to get that moving again. The PT was forcing my arm to move up above my head a bit more each visit as I laid on the table. I also did some strengthening exercises. Eventually, I got past that.

There could be some soft tissue damage in your shoulder which needs to heal and it may take a few months to get through it. A physical therapist is a first step, and they can do a lot of good. It's usually after the therapy fails to help, that surgery could be considered. Chris mentioned me because I have done a lot of physical therapy and myofascial release which is a gentle way to stretch out facial restrictions. My shoulder was too far forward because of overly tight muscles in the front of the chest and because of slouching posture over the years, and MFR can get things back where they should be aligned and moving better. When our bodies get stuck and don't move properly, there is a problem waiting to happen. MFR can also help after injuries after the injury has healed. I am working on this right now with my ankle. I dislocated and broke my ankle 7 months ago, had surgery and a cast for 6 weeks, and then started physical therapy. My therapist uses the myofascial release to work on the surgical scar tissue restrictions and to ease the muscle tightness from the injury. Muscles are meant to work in opposition where some pull a limb or joint forward, and others pull it backward. If one side stops working because of injury, the other side can develop spasms and knots and even pull things out of alignment. After the injured side heals, it can be strengthened through resistance training so it can work properly in opposition again. The tendons and ligaments take time to heal. Here is our discussion on MFR and there is a provider finder on the myofascialrelease.com website. MFR is a gentle stretch, not aggressive which is why it works. If the stretch is too aggressive, the body resists to protect itself and nothing is accomplished. With a slow easy stretch, the fascia slides and reorganizes itself.