<human>: I was in an auto accident on 09/29 and was hit on a driver s side of driver s side. Since then, I have not been able to reach behind my back or lift my left arm over my head. Opening doors and lifting/carrying things like a milk carton is very painful, and the pain tends to burn from my back left shoulder all the way to my elbow. Is this a torn muscle and should I get an MRI? Currently, my insurance is only allowing Physical Therapy and it is not improving.
<bot>: Hello, It looks from your details that most probably you may be suffering from tendinitis of shoulder muscle. You should do following to have relief in this:- Take a good analgesic like ibuprofen. In such cases I generally prescribe diclofenac sodium in twice a day dose.- Do warm fomentation over shoulder with warm water bag for at least 3 times a day.- Take assistance of a physiotherapist.- There are some exercises like pendulum exercises for shoulder, which are helpful in this condition. This may take about 3-4 months for complete recovery with physio. If even after all these efforts it continues to be there then you may have an MRI to get it completely evaluated. Hope I have answered your question. Let me know if I can assist you further. 