bring me back my golden arm

(first--i didn't know that movie, the man w/ the golden arm, was about a heroine addict.)

went to the orthopaedist and he poked around on my back, specifically my scapula (i think). he said it is not my rotator cuff like the other doctor thought, it is not my shoulder at all but the muscles/tendons that connect the scapula to the spinal cord. that area is the trigger point and all those little nerve hairs etc. that fan out trigger the pain in my arm.

so he poked some more (hard!) does this hurt, yikes, yes dammit, does this hurt, ouch! and then he gave me a big ass shot of cortisone that felt like it took 20 minutes to inject (it was probably only about 20 seconds). each dose of medication hurt like hell. i did not cry, though i was breathing heavy and clutching the table. my arm still hurts so i'm not sure it worked.

he gave me a scrip for sleeping pills (so i will sleep flat on my back all night long) and some more vickie. he also gave me a stretching exercise to do (and has referred me to a physical therapist). he said i should do this exercise 10 times a day and if i can do it in the shower all the better.

here's the exercise. the hubs and i stand face to face. i grasp his fingers and he pulls down and i lean down (10 degrees at a time) to stretch my back. you can see where this is going right?

anyway, i'm under no restrictions/limitations and he said most likely it's caused by working at the computer so much. he said the physical therapist can tell me how to change my work station to help this. of course he referred me to a pt that is not in my insurance network so i need to find another one.