Shoulder Pain
Has anyone had intense shoulder pain with AS? I’ve had a tender clavicle joint and shoulder pain that has lasted 3 months…shoulder and neck MRIs are normal. It seems to “flare” when I eat certain things or sit in certain positions but it’s so hard to tell. Trying to figure out if it’s part of AS.
Thank you Rebecca! I appreciate your insight! Wishing you a peaceful holiday too 😀
HI, I have had both shoulders operated on to fix pain, had plenty of cortisone injections first, before surgery, diagnosed with arthritis, bursor's etc. Now I've had a hip replacement, diagnosed arthritis etc. Constant tennis elbow or golfers elbow. Now they say “Oh, its all related to AS, if only I had been diagnosed properly years ago. I did go to a DR in my early 30’s and he said you have AS Then nothing, no follow no care, 15 years later, literally falling apart
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I'm saddened to hear what you've been going through. It breaks my heart to learn you've had no care and treatment for 15 years. Your diagnostic story is so frustrating and one in which many in this community can relate. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
Sending you all my best, Doreen (Team Member)
Hi Rebecca-Thank you for your reply! How did you treat the enthesitis?
thanks for responding. For acute pain in my shoulder and arm, I was treated with steroids to reduce inflammation. Then moved on from there. Treating it can be difficult but it is manageable. The first line of treatment is NSAIDs, then DMARDs, then biological medications. I failed the first two as I have been taking them for years. I also tried four other biological (TNF inhibitor) medications only to fail them. I am currently on a JAK inhibitor and have found the greatest relief. Are you currently treated with a biologic to manage spondyloarthritis? Here's an article that may help you understand enthesitis and its process in spondyloarthritis. https://axialspondyloarthritis.net/symptoms/body-pain Wishing you the best this holiday season. Rebecca (community moderator)
Hey Katie,
I'm ever so sorry to hear that your shoulder has been giving you all of this trouble. I have experienced shoulder pain myself but as I also have RA, I'm not too sure which disease is responsible for it! What area of the shoulder do you find the pain in?
I definitely notice my pain and stiffness go up when I eat certain foods and after a bit of trial and error realised that gluten and lactose are two of the main culprits in that department - which was a sad revelation as a pizza lover! Which foods have you noticed do this for you?
How is your shoulder doing at the moment? Have you been able to find any answers or relief for these issues?
Wishing you all the best,
James (Community Member)Hi James,
Thank you for your reply! I’m still having the shoulder pain. I notice it around my shoulder blade, top and front of shoulder. My sternoclavicle joint gets inflamed and I think that could be somewhat responsible for tightening up the surrounding muscles. I haven’t noticed a clear pattern with food but I’m always assessing. I try to stretch and strengthen my shoulder but it’s hard to get the pain to go away.Hi
- although directed toward James, I wanted to jump in and leave a little information that may help. I have dealt with the same issue of shoulder/upper arm pain when my spine became unstable and inflamed. I treated the enthesitis and it decreased quite a bit along with an exercise program. Here's a link to a bit more information about enthesitis - https://axialspondyloarthritis.net/anatomy Hoping that your holidays are low in pain and high in joy and peace. Thoughtfully, Rebecca (community moderator)
