# Typical bloke: probably needs to goto a doctor



## Rooster1 (21 Dec 2017)

My left arm.

When I stretch it out and slightly back, like you do when putting on clothes it hurts in the middle and upper joints!

It's been like it for a few weeks and I was hoping it would just go away and that I had probably simply pulled it.

Situations that hurt...
I have to be really careful when I am reaching for stuff in the back of the car - ouch
Reaching for the alarm clock this morning - ouch
Getting dressed, left arm - ouch.

What the blazes is going on. 
I am 48.
I cycle daily. 
I am right handed.

DOCTOR!!!


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## ianrauk (21 Dec 2017)

No one on here will know or is even a Doctor.
So make an appointment with your GP. You're getting to an age where you shouldn't just think or hope it would go away. Best to get checked out.


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## Thorn Sherpa (21 Dec 2017)

I'd definitely go to the docs like ianrauk says sounds like it needs checking out. Could be an old injury resurfaced, repetitive strain injury depending on your job type/activities you do on a regular basis?


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

as @ianrauk says, you need to see someone. GP, then sports physio. Or skip the GP and go straight to physio if you want it seen to quickly (£50 probably for assessment)

Shoulder tightness or possibly neck, get it seen to. And rest it properly, no cycling for a few weeks

You might actually find a proper sports massage or two does the trick, but see physio first

@meta lon what were your initial frozen shoulder symptoms? These sound familiar?

@Rooster1 if it is a FS...good luck


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## Rooster1 (21 Dec 2017)

*NOOOOOOO !!!! >>>>And rest it properly, no cycling for a few weeks*


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

Go see sports physio today/tomorrow and see what s/he says

If it's a Frozen Shoulder starting, they can take *2+ years* (!!) to resolve...do not ignore


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## jay clock (21 Dec 2017)

Sports physio in my view. GP not the best starting point.


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## Rooster1 (21 Dec 2017)

OK. off to the docs guys - not now but tomorrow.


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

Rooster1 said:


> OK. off to the docs guys - not now but tomorrow.


See @jay clock reply...makes much more sense IMO even if you have to pay (do you have private HC? If so can usually self refer no problem)

Will you even get a GP appointment the day before Xmas close down as it's not an emergency?


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## Rooster1 (21 Dec 2017)

vickster said:


> See @jay clock reply...makes much more sense IMO even if you have to pay (do you have private HC? If so can usually self refer no problem)
> 
> Will you even get a GP appointment the day before Xmas close down as it's not an emergency?



Yes, surgery will be open and happy to see me. If not will try and go next week.


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

Good luck. They'll likely tell you to rest and take meds, whereas a physio will get hands on and give you the right exercises and stretches to do based on an accurate diagnosis


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## Colin_P (21 Dec 2017)

You know that Stretch Armstong, that is you that is. Doo-roo-roo-roo


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## smutchin (21 Dec 2017)

vickster said:


> They'll likely tell you to rest and take meds



Not necessarily. I wanted to see the physio at the local practice to sort out my long-term knee problems, but you can't book appointments directly, you have to be referred by your GP. So I booked to see my GP, and he said he would refer me before I even got as far as asking. He didn't mention meds once.

Took a few weeks before I got to see the physio though, so if you want to get it sorted more urgently, you'll probably have to go private. I go to a local private practice for sports massage and thought about getting them to look at my knee but I didn't mind waiting to be seen on the NHS.

Physio hasn't mentioned meds either, but she has used acupuncture on my knee - I was a bit cynical about it at first but I've actually found it to be really effective pain relief, so I'm a convert.


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

What was your issue?

Don’t think my GP practice has Physio onsite. I’ve always been quoted 8-12 weeks wait on the NHS for local hospitals which is untenable if affecting work and thus go private (mostly through Bupa, sometimes self pay)

As much as my GP is excellent, I wouldn’t expect her to fix msk issues but to refer

I already take a bucket load of meds, so if I have pain that needs hands on treatment, Physio is the way I go

I’ve had a load of acupuncture (or dry needling), only ever seems to help back muscle spasm. Little effect on all the other joints I’ve had treated, shoulder, knee, leg, foot (inflammation, arthritis). But I’m always happy for a Physio to give it a go alongside deep tissue massage, ultrasound, taping etc


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## smutchin (21 Dec 2017)

vickster said:


> What was your issue?



Well, the pain is in my knee (ITB/ACL) but I think the root cause(s) may be in my achilles, quads and lower back...



> Don’t think my GP practice has Physio onsite. I’ve always been quoted 8-12 weeks wait on the NHS for local hospitals which is untenable if affecting work and thus go private (mostly through Bupa, sometimes self pay)



I appreciate I'm lucky to have a decent medical practice locally, with minor injuries clinic and physio. I wouldn't have been surprised if it had taken 8-12 weeks for the physio appointment to become available but I was lucky with that too!



> I’ve had a load of acupuncture (or dry needling), only ever seems to help back muscle spasm. Little effect on all the other joints I’ve had treated, shoulder, knee, leg, foot (inflammation, arthritis). But I’m always happy for a Physio to give it a go alongside deep tissue massage, ultrasound, taping etc



Ultrasound didn't seem to have any effect for me. Massage helps.

Anyway, to get back on topic, physio definitely seems the way forward for the OP, it's just a question of how to go about getting that treatment... @Rooster1 hopefully your GP will refer you straight away and with luck you might get seen inside a few weeks. In the meantime, pain relief is probably the only real option.


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

smutchin said:


> Well, the pain is in my knee (ITB/ACL) but I think the root cause(s) may be in my achilles, quads and lower back .


A good Sports Physio should be able to tell what the issues are 
If not, see a knee specialist and push for an MRI


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## smutchin (21 Dec 2017)

Yeah, she knows what she's doing, I just didn't want to bore you with the details.


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

At least you’re getting it seen to, unlike the OP yet...


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## smutchin (21 Dec 2017)

It took me nearly a year to get around to it!


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## vickster (21 Dec 2017)

smutchin said:


> It took me nearly a year to get around to it!


Typical bloody bloke


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## slowmotion (21 Dec 2017)

Go and see a GP. It might not be anything that a physio can fix. I had a really painful wrist after going ten pin bowling. Then my elbow started hurting....then my shoulder, and finally my knees. I managed to convince myself that it was because I wasn't used to the riding position on my first road bike. After five months I caved in and went to my doctor and was referred to a specialist. Rheumatoid arthritis. Fortunately the two drugs I take have worked, and I'm fine now.


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## PaulSB (22 Dec 2017)

For me the GP has to be the starting point. I’ve had stiffness down the whole of my left side from base of neck to ankle. Went to GP who referred me to a podiatrist as I expected. What surprised me was the podiatrist referred me on to a physio.

The podiatrist solved my gait issues which fixed me up to the hip. The physio identified the neck muscles issue and fixed me down to the hip.

I believed it was all connected to my fallen arch! Self diagnosis can be tricky.

All on the NHS and inside four weeks though treatment is ongoing.


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## Gasman (24 Dec 2017)

ianrauk said:


> No one on here...is even a Doctor.



Err, I'm a doctor (retired) although, admittedly, bones, joints, etc were not my specialty so the OP should see someone more appropriate.

This does sound like a case of what I, in my early years working in A&E, used to describe as "Tommy Cooper syndrome"

TC - Doc, it hurts when I do this.

Doctor - Well. don't do it!


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## Mrs M (24 Dec 2017)

Osteopath should do the trick


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## vickster (24 Dec 2017)

What did the GP say @Rooster1


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## Saluki (25 Dec 2017)

I had pain like you described doing similar activities. Rotator Cuff injury. Not trying to diagnose, just saying that I had something similar. See a doc and get some physio.


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## Rooster1 (28 Feb 2018)

I ACTUALLY WENT TO THE DOCTOR AND TOMORROW I AM GETTING SOME PHYSIO.

Actually got my **** together.


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## vickster (28 Feb 2018)

Well done

What did the Dr diagnose?


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## jefmcg (28 Feb 2018)

Rooster1 said:


> It's been like it for a few weeks and I was hoping it would just go away and that I had probably simply pulled it.


I'd just like to point out this isn't blokey behaviour at all. Finding a pain in a joint or muscle that is uncomfortable, but not debilitating and isn't the result of an acute injury (eg a fall), the correct behaviour would be as you have done. Waiting to see if it rights itself - as they mostly do - before bothering the doctor.

Blokey behaviour - and this is a true story - is a friend mine who went to his GP with a nagging cough, and was referred to chest specialist. He didn't go for a year! and by the time he did, the (fortunately benign) tumour had grown so large that when they cracked his chest open, they found it was impinging on his spine and was inoperable. 

He's still alive, you'll be pleased to hear. They shrank it with radiotherapy, and for a long while he thought he couldn't have children. Luckily that proved wrong.

Anyway, I'm also curious of the diagnosis and how the physio goes.


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## Rooster1 (28 Feb 2018)

Doc thinks it is an injury (from doing something I don't actually recall). 
Could have been anything... lifting a bike in the garage, falling off the bike (I have come off but there was never any pain).

My wife (who has saved my from Smoking!) lost her mum a few years back to cancer so is on my case whenever there is an issue - however small.

I will find out tomorrow, if the snow allows me to get to the physio.

thanks


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## vickster (28 Feb 2018)

jefmcg said:


> I'd just like to point out this isn't blokey behaviour at all. Finding a pain in a joint or muscle that is uncomfortable, but not debilitating and isn't the result of an acute injury (eg a fall), the correct behaviour would be as you have done. Waiting to see if it rights itself - as they mostly do - before bothering the doctor.



Sounds familiar and not always the best course of action in certain circumstances 

@Rooster1 private Physio? Call the practice before setting out if they don’t contact you to confirm if appt going ahead or cancelled


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## Rooster1 (28 Feb 2018)

vickster said:


> Sounds familiar and not always the best course of action in certain circumstances
> 
> @Rooster1 private Physio? Call the practice before setting out if they don’t contact you to confirm if appt going ahead or cancelled


I have been referred by the GP so not private. They've sent me some T&C's about cancellations which I totally understand. I can get on my MTB if I have to.


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## vickster (28 Feb 2018)

How can they penalise you if you’re not paying?


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## Rooster1 (28 Feb 2018)

vickster said:


> Sounds familiar and not always the best course of action in certain circumstances
> 
> @Rooster1 private Physio? Call the practice before setting out if they don’t contact you to confirm if appt going ahead or cancelled





vickster said:


> How can they penalise you if you’re not paying?



They just say "Hey, we get paid of you come, but not if you don't turn up", so be nice about it. (Them, not you)


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## vickster (28 Feb 2018)

Rooster1 said:


> They just say "Hey, we get paid of you come, but not if you don't turn up", so be nice about it. (Them, not you)


Ah and they’d probably refuse to see you next time

Obviously check they are there before you leave

Maybe don’t cycle?!


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