Should tendonitis pain, do I need to stop working out to rest it and lose all my progess?

[WaikikiWaves]

Originally Posted by WRM20

My doctor was right, in my case. I had 2 shots and have not had any pain since. I wasn't taking NSAIDS, as they had zero effect on the pain. Perhaps meloxicam might have helped, but it wasn't prescribed. Meloxicam did help resolve the post viral arthralgia I suffered after having West Nile encephalitis 2 years ago.

The Cleveland clinic item was in response to your claim that tendons don't get irritated and swell from impingement. That's a patently false statement with respect to shoulder pain.

Neither of your linked studies proves cortisone injections are useless. Like any statistically based study, there are some people that benefit and some that don't. As I've said, my doctor gave me 2 shots. If the pain returned, he would have tried something else, as he doesn't give more than 2.

Every study on cortisone shots shows at best they just help with pain. You won't find a single study showing they actually help healing of the underlying issue, because none exist. Like a lot of medical wisdom, it's pulled out of someone's butt, becomes essentially accepted, and when RCT come and disprove it (I linked to studies focusing on the underlying tissue integrity), the medical community will usually take two or three decades to change their tune.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by WaikikiWaves

Every study on cortisone shots shows at best they just help with pain. You won't find a single study showing they actually help healing of the underlying issue, because none exist. Like a lot of medical wisdom, it's pulled out of someone's butt, becomes essentially accepted, and when RCT come and disprove it (I linked to studies focusing on the underlying tissue integrity), the medical community will usually take two or three decades to change their tune.

Ok, how would you have treated my issue? How do you stop tendon irritation in the shoulder before it becomes an actual tear? Keep in mind that two years of very low activity did not help. Or should I have just skipped the shots and kept hurting because that's what statistics say?

[WaikikiWaves]

Originally Posted by WRM20

Ok, how would you have treated my issue? How do you stop tendon irritation in the shoulder before it becomes an actual tear? Keep in mind that two years of very low activity did not help. Or should I have just skipped the shots and kept hurting because that's what statistics say?

I would have treated it with targeted exercises focusing on mobility and some NSAIDs if it was too painful for you to get through the exercises. My philosophy is rest (low activity) is often the worst possible remedy other than the activity that caused it in the first place, throwing baseballs in your case.

I believe, though cannot be sure, that in your case, the cortisone shots provided pain relief allowing you move the joint more freely, which allowed increased blood flow to the area and resulted in some form of healing. But that could be accomplished through some NSAIDs as well, which have less side effects than cortisone shots.

I've personally had many similar cases of various forms of tendonitis in many joints throughout my lifting life. And always, doing mobility work relieved the situation, without the need of pain meds.