Mrs F.P. , a 59 year old married female,presented to our clinic complaining of right shoulder pain for a few months. Mrs F.P. stated that her pain was ‘’worse at night’’, ‘uncomfortable’ and she could not "raise her arm comfortably". She attributed her pain from pulling some heavy luggage. She was minimally symptomatic at the time of her visit. On physical examination by one of our experienced consultants, Mrs F.P. was found to have free range of movement with her right shoulder with no pain. She however did exhibit minimally positive impingement signs of the right shoulder. She was then sent for an X-ray which showed a small calcification at the supra-spinatus tendon (At the shoulder joint). A diagnosis of calcific tendinitis of the right shoulder was made. The decision was made to treat Mrs. F.P.’s condition during that same visit. The skin over her right shoulder joint was numbed using lignocaine with adrenaline after which, under ultrasound guidance, the joint was then injected with steroid and the calcific deposit was ‘’needled’’. Mrs. F.P. was then told to return for follow-up in the next two weeks.
Two weeks later, at her follow-up visit, Mrs. F.P. stated that she no longer experienced any pain at her right shoulder joint. On physical examination, she had free range of movement at her right shoulder and also experienced no pain with stress of the joint. Repeat X-rays showed a mild reduction in the size of the calcific deposit. She was advised on self-directed exercises for her right shoulder, and was subsequently discharged from our clinic.
For more information on calcific tendinitis:- http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1267908-trea...
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