Bicep swollen and painful with shoulder pain along with joint pain everywhere

[Mstiles]

I’m having pain in my right shoulder that hurts when I move my arm from left to right and when I pick up something heavy or push down on something. Also in the left one but not as bad. My arm muscles are really weak.

A few days ago I was cleaning the bathtub and I felt something move in that shoulder.

Today the bicep muscle in that arm is swollen and a little bruised.

I’ve been doing the “what is causing this new pain?” search for weeks. X-rays show osteoarthritis in the hips, knees, sciatic joints, and lower, lumbar, spine. Tests for RA were negative. RA factor slightly elevated and sed rate and CPR have gone down and are in normal range. GP says everything is normal.

I see an orthopedic doctor this week as my gate has gotten wobbly and painful. I also have scoliosis, mild to medium, and a painful, swollen, right ankle.

Since these tests I’ve developed the shoulder pain and also pain in the wrists and hands in the joints at the beginning of the fingers.

Sorry for this long post!I guess the swollen muscle is most concerning right now.

Any suggestions as to how to sort all this is appreciated.

[SnazzyD]

Oh dear, as if you need anything else! The fact that you felt something give when your arm was in action and now you’ve got a bulge in the bicep suggests the tendon at the top has torn. I’ve seen it where the muscle slumps a bit and there’s a soft swelling lower down. Problems in the shoulder can make this more likely to happen. Have a read of this:

healthline.com/health/torn-...

[Mstiles in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks Snazzy for the information. Very helpful.

I guess that means calling my GP and getting an appt.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Like Snazzy, I think it sounds like bicep tendon problems.

These articles may be helpful:

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

[Mstiles in reply to PMRpro]

thank you

Could this shoulder problem, tendinitis, and the other problems with pain I’ve been having and trying to figure out that I I mentioned in my post, be caused by PMR?

Does PMR cause tendinitis?

I’ve not raised my pred through all of this while trying to get answers. Currently at 9mg.

[SnazzyD in reply to Mstiles]

I suspect it’s the grim trio of PMR, Pred and deconditioning, but which one is the bigger culprit I don’t know.

[Mstiles in reply to SnazzyD]

ha!

Grim trio, so true!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mstiles]

I agree with Snazzy. Tendinitis is part of PMR and pred makes your tendons more delicate.

[Mstiles in reply to PMRpro]

thank you PRMpro

Last question, I have confusion about this being shoulder problem being part of a PMR flare that needs more pred, because my sed rate and CPR were both lower in testing 3 weeks ago. They were reduced from being right at the edge of the scale.

She also tested for RA and that was just over the mark to read “high”, but my GP said everything was normal.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Mstiles]

It could be a mix - PMR is making an overstrain or injury worse.