Doctorese terms,
Subacromial bursitis with impingement.
Supraspinatus calcific tendinopathy.
Degenerative disease of the AC joint (the end of my clavicle looks like an elephants foot on the x rays).
The injection was to work out if it was the bursitis or the other causing the most pain.
When I used to ride roadies I remember I used to get a sore shoulder a lot after a few hours riding. But I have other issues with lower spinal discs and cervical spine degeneration issues, so the shoulder pain was never really looked into closely. It's not until I had a crash in August and shoulder charged the ground that it's become a major issue. Unfortunately I inherited my mums genes relating to shitty bones /spine.
My doctor hasn't given a lot of advice on recovery/ therapy options, I should probably seek another opinion.
OK basically had the exact same thing about 7 years ago. Stemmed from sports related problems that were never addressed about 10 years before that. Before getting on the path to recovery it was so bad I could not lift my left arm above my shoulder.
At first my GP directed me to a couple of physios but they got no where. My GP gave me 2 options.
1. keep faffing around.
2. Go straight to the top and go to one of the best sports medicine doctors in the country.
Went for option 2 out of my own pocket.
That sports doctor is Dr Paul Blackman at Olympic Park Sports Medicine Center in Victoria. Olympians, tennis stars, football, soccer etc he is often the first doctor that gets requested. If there is an Olympics on he is probably there. Sure he sees many athletes but most of his patients are people like you and me.
Here is my experience which you can use to assist your own rehabilitation.
When I went I had no idea what my problem was.
I needed a referral from my GP to see Dr Blackman. There was a bit of a wait for my first consult which cost around $260 (I'm sure it will be more now). Before visiting I also had an ultrasound and X-rays done on the shoulder and brought them along. Definitely do this as he was able to diagnose my issue in the first session. First he made me do a bunch of movements and basically said this is most probably the issue. He then opened up the scans and showed me exactly where the issues were in the imaging. The calcification was such that it even showed up in the X-ray.
The solution was going to be physio and if required an injection to assist. Failing that I would need an operation.
He then partners up with a physio that's an expert in shoulders. In my case it was a physio that specialises in shoulder of pro and amateur tennis players (amongst other things). Dr Blackman and the physio then work together on a solution. Basically Dr Blackman would consult with the physio to devise a recovery plan, I would then do a number of sessions with the physio, the physio would report back to Dr Blackman after each session. Then I would go back to Dr Blackman to do a physical check on my progress.
The physio would work mainly on my back muscles as my long term issue had resulted on a number of muscles atrophying while other muscles were over working to compensate. My posture when standing was completely screwed up as a result. These problems were exacerbating the impingement.
At the end of the physio session I would get a number of strength exercises with a band to build up the weak muscles. I would video this part with my phone so I could correctly reproduce the movements at home.
Long story short, after about 8 weeks I was not seeing any progress. So Blackman switched to another physio. This one worked with professional soccer goalies who suffer all kinds of shoulder problems.
It was similar to the first with each session starting with back work but at the end I had an entirely different set of strength exercises.
About a month into the new physio/routine I had an injection in the shoulder that was administered by Dr Blackman. It's one of his areas of expertise. He was doing the injection and the ultrasound at the same time so he could hit the exact spot with injection. The relief was instant! It's not a long term fix but I felt normal for the first time in years. The pain did come back eventually.
There was another couple of months of physio + Doctors sessions and then relatively quickly the pain started to disappear. We were probably at month 7 by now. Dr Blackman did another ultrasound and the calcification had completely been absorbed, my posture was back to normal, the physio and strength training meant that the muscles in my back, shoulders and arms were all back to the same strength.
In my situation I was back to 100% with full mobility and strength. Obviously this is my experience and it may differ for others.
You will see the physio way more than the Doctor.
Basically the process of having the Sports Doctor working directly with the physio (with both consulting with one another) along with your input to the two of them is the way it's done in professional sport.
I can't remember the final cost, the first doctor session was the most expensive, but the following consults were cheaper. The physio sessions were just a little more expensive than a regular physio. It's was worth every cent.
Had another friend with a similar shoulder problem, sent him to Blackman. He was back to 100% in less than 6 months.
Hope this helps
Cheers
Dan