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Anonymous

Hello All...I have been following this thread for 2 months. I got my flu shot too high on the arm on Oct.12 and have been in horrible pain and had poor range of motion ever since. With a new baby and other stressors right now, I have not had time to do anything about it except anti-inflammatories and lots of complaining and crying. My pain has had a nerve quality to it with tingling, shooting, aching, etc. I am a nurse and my husband is an emergency room doctor, so I am not against a medical approach but I decided to go to an orthopedic massage therapist for starters. And I am sooo glad I did! She worked on me for 1 hour and 45 minutes and only charged me for the hour. She was sweet and felt so bad for me. As she was working she said, "Oh! I know what's going on!" She wants me to tell all of you that there is hope. She explained like this...when we were given the shot too high on the deltoid it was extremely painful and the deltoid reacted as though it was "under attack". The deltoid and the surrounding muscles contracted to draw the arm in to protect it and pull it out of danger. We probably also started to hold our arms close to the body and even may have drawn the shoulder upwards too. Over time, and it doesn't take long, the muscles can become so tense, tight and contracted that it causes intense pain and these tense muscles can and do put undue pressure on nerves giving us the nerve symptoms such as tingling fingers, shooting pain, etc. The needle does not have to have injured the nerve at all. In fact, the likelihood of that being the case is low because there is not a nerve in that area that the needle would be able to reach. And the same is true of being given the shot in the 'joint'. Not really possible. That all came from my husband, by the way. But back to the massage therapist...she wants me to tell you all to find an orthopedic massage therapist in your area and tell them you need your trigger points released. She said that she has had clients whose muscles were so tight that the shoulder blade was literally plastered to the persons back! Don't let it get so bad. I am amazed at the relief I have already experienced. After 1 massage, I could pull off my shirt and drive with my left arm! Yes, I am still sore in places but she says I was so messed up she needs more time with me. I plan to go weekly for a few visits until I have full recovery. I hope you will all give this a try! Steroids are only a temporary treatment and I know that we all want to get back to our normal selves as soon as possible! Let us know how it goes. Good luck...Jamie from Michigan

December 11, 2009 - 8:51am

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