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Doctor first to diagnose.Then you can decide how to treat it.
Totally agree. If it's something you've been able to tolerate (which - you obviously have, or you would've gotten treatment already), then you should get the problem diagnosed first. Find out what's wrong, exactly.
While you're at the doctor's office, you'll get a recommendation for treatment - which could be anything from "stop playing tennis with a 20-pound dumbbell as your racket" to "omg u haz a tumR u must amputate lololol"
If the diagnosis and treatment makes sense to you - then try it.
If it doesn't, then ask the doctor to recommend either a specialist in the field of whatever the diagnosis category is, or a chiropractor. Some doctors -do- recommend chiropractic, for certain problems, so don't assume that none of them do. Always ask, if it's something you are interested in trying (my chiropractor was also an MD, back when I used one many years ago).
Having been there and done that, I would recommend seeing a doctor first (In my case it was an orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulders.) to determine what might be causing the pain. The doctor may give you a cortisone shot, which will help with the pain and send you for physical therapy if it's problem but not something requiring surgery (yet).
first you probably need to see your primary care doctor, then maybe a specialist. Depending what the problem is, you can make a choice between the phsical therapy and a Chiropartor. Your doctor will probably suggest the therapy. Only you can decide. Of course, you might need surgery, who knows? I am facing a similare situation right now: For months my left knee get stiff if I tuck my leg under me when sitting on the couch. I didn't think anything about it, but on our cruise, my leg started hurting near the calf, then the knee and now about the entire leg as well as my foot is a little numb. That has been the case for awhile as well. Anyway, long story short,after seeing a doctor on ship (a joke, but he was nice) and hardly being able to stand I made an appointment with our primary care doctor last week: ended up cancelling it cause my leg felt better, only to have the old problem return. I go in tomorrow at 9am. I am thinking a specialist will be next .
Just to clarify my earlier post, I did see my internist first. It was she who referred me to the orthopedic surgeon for further analysis. Another point: Even though my insurance would allow me to go directly to any doctor without a referral, I've found that here where I live, your chances of getting an appointment with a specialist sooner rather than later greatly increase with a referral rather than calling their office directly.
what doctor to see if you experience intermittent left shoulder pain ?
Depends on what your insurance requires. In my case, I can go for physical therapy for 30 days before getting a referral. I can also see a specialist without a referral. My PCP would recommend PT or an X-ray or maybe an MRI. He would also tell me to stop doing what is causing the problem.
OP I had a similiar experience, went to the family doctor, he referred me to an orthopedic doctor and after tests he ended up doing rotator cuff surgery.
Doctor first to diagnose.Then you can decide how to treat it.
I agree. For spinal issues, I am very pro-chiropractor, and they can help with shoulder pain too if its kind of an "0ut of proper slignment" issue, but shoulder pain could have a variety of causes.
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