# Slightly(?) injured shoulder- looking for advice **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2026, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995 "2026-09-11T13:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/21 "2026-09-11T19:58:36Z")
Thanks for the practical advice, BBB, and for not using your night nurse voice on me šŸ˜„ ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/22 "2026-09-11T20:53:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But it takes me weeks to get an appointment to see a doctor. In your situation, i would make an appointment to see some suitable specialist, and cancel the appointment if it got better in the meantime. I was coming in here to pretty much say the same thing. I personally am more leery of trying to rehab something complex like a joint without a professional diagnosis and instructions. For something like a pulled muscle, or a known injury that flared up again, I would consider the online PT mentioned above. But IMHO joints are too complicated to hope that youā€™ve chosen the right PT activities for what you think might be wrong and instead could actually cause yourself further harm. Now I also say all of that as someone with good health insurance and the ability to afford any copays, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/23 "2026-09-11T22:07:01Z")
> [@solost](#): > > It was very quiet when I went in; we got right in and I was seen right away. We came in at 3:00 AM, we were the only ones there. Itā€™s not that the Dr wasnā€™t rushing us out, itā€™s that his job description doesnā€™t include diagnosing complex problems unless they are life threatening. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/24 "2026-09-11T22:47:47Z")
That makes my opinion of your wifeā€™s ER doc that much worse. So he was not rushed, yet he basically said ā€œitā€™s not my job to diagnose you, itā€™s to get you out of hereā€. At the very least, his bedside manner was execrable. At worst, he was a shitty or uncaring doc. At any rate, again, Iā€™m sorry for the treatment your wife received by that doc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/25 "2026-09-12T00:27:00Z")
> [@solost](#): > > So he was not rushed, yet he basically said ā€œitā€™s not my job to diagnose you, itā€™s to get you out of hereā€. I disagree. A specialist was needed to diagnose her problem; she ended up having a microdiscectomy after an MRI and significant diagnostic work with a back doctor. None of that could have been done while she was in pain and immobile. His job in the ER at 3:00 AM is get her to the point where she can comfortably ride home and get some sleep. Thatā€™s why we went to the ER, not to get a diagnosis. She did ask when she was out of the worst pain, but I think his answer was accurate. Besides, no surgeon would have cared what some random ER doc said without proper imaging which wasnā€™t possible for a patient in severe pain. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/26 "2026-09-12T02:05:40Z")
Okay, then I apologize for my misunderstanding and mischaracterization of the emergency care your wife received. I hope sheā€™s doing much better now. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/27 "2026-09-12T02:17:29Z")
I messaged my doctor about my shoulder when it was really bad. And he didnā€™t say, ā€œcome in and Iā€™ll look at itā€. He suggested i see the physiatrist, who is better trained in that kind of thing than my pcp. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/28 "2026-09-12T12:05:21Z")
Thanks puzzlegal. I was actually unfamiliar with the term ā€˜physiatristā€™, so looked up the difference between that and an ortho doc: > The main difference is that an orthopedic doctor is a surgeon who treats structural problems with operations, while a physiatrist focuses on non-surgical rehabilitation and pain relief. Sounds like a physiatrist is what I may need more than an ortho. Hopefully the ortho doc referral I was given does not go right to a recommendation for surgery, in a ā€˜when your only tool is a hammerā€¦ā€™ sense. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/29 "2026-09-12T16:03:38Z")
My experience with orthopedic surgeons is that they start by recommending rest and physical therapy. I think youā€™ll be fine. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/30 "2026-09-12T16:06:39Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Last Saturday Labor Day weekend, I was riding my bicycle on a sidewalk when an idiot on a gasoline engine powered mini bike came barreling around a bend straight down the middle of the sidewalk. My wife and I were driving home after running some errands this morning, and damned if I didnā€™t see the same guy on the mini bike barreling down the same sidewalk he ran me down on a week ago. This is a fat tire, gasoline engine powered mini bike, basically a small motorcycle. It has absolutely no business being driven on a public sidewalk. Wondering if I should call the police and let them know. Not that theyā€™re going to do a stakeout to catch the guy or anything like that, but maybe itā€™ll cause them to keep an eye out when theyā€™re going down that stretch of road, ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/31 "2026-09-12T16:15:03Z")
Iā€™d report it, if nothing else itā€™s a record of a hazard that will eventually result in big trouble for the city I expect. A town next door is addressing this very issue of e-bikes on sidewalks especially in the social district. I think theyā€™re considering an ordinance and fines. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/32 "2026-09-12T16:18:45Z")
I just called and reported it to the police dispatcher. She said ā€œweā€™ll try to get someone out to look for himā€. Well, at least my complaint is on record. I looked up the law here. E-bikes are generally considered bicycles and are legal to ride on the sidewalk under state law (local laws can prohibit them, however) but gasoline engine powered mini bikes are most definitely not legal- itā€™s a misdemeanor to operate on a public sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/33 "2026-09-12T19:46:10Z")
Interesting. Where I live, bicycles arenā€™t allowed on the sidewalks ā€“ they are considered a vehicle. Thatā€™s not a law that gets a lot of enforcement, especially when kids ride on the sidewalk. But it is expected that adults will bicycle in the street. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/34 "2026-09-12T21:21:10Z")
I bicycle in the street everywhere I feel safe enough to do it. Iā€™m always extremely careful and slow on the sidewalks when I do ride my bike on them, and give pedestrians a wide berth. On the stretch home I was taking, itā€™s a pretty busy, very winding, single lane each way artery road for the neighborhood that has a 40mph speed limit. But people are always going too fast, especially around the curves. So, Ironically, I thought Iā€™d be safer on the sidewalkā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/35 "2026-09-14T16:06:23Z")
So, follow-up: Iā€™m able to get in to see the ortho tomorrow. Which is good, because itā€™s becoming clear to me that this is not a ā€˜bounce right backā€™ type of situation. The pain is transforming from ā€˜not bad at all when Iā€™m not moving my arm, but extremely painful when I do move itā€™ to ā€˜not as painful to move my arm when doing normal things, but itā€™s developing a constant ache whether Iā€™m resting the arm or notā€™. Especially at night-- Iā€™ve woken up the last couple nights at 3 or 4 am, in pain so bad I had to take a couple ibuprofen to take the edge off so I could eventually get back to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995/36 "2026-10-18T13:27:50Z")
> [@solost](#): > > damned if I didnā€™t see the same guy on the mini bike barreling down the same sidewalk he ran me down on a week ago. You need a stout walking stick/quarterstaff that might accidentally end up in his spokes as you attempt to dodge out of the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slightly-injured-shoulder-looking-for-advice/1032995.md?page=1)