Firstly, great site - lots of info, such a help!

Brief history - I was in a car accident towards the end of 2010, pretty severe. Been on the never ending ride of physio (temporary relief & $$), pain meds, pain clinic physiologist & cortisone shots. I saw a shoulder surgeon out of frustration (everyone kept saying its referred pain from my neck - 2 bulging discs) the surgeon looked at me & said I have an impingement - continue with therapy.

Had enough last week & demanded an MRI, I had an athrography MRI done which came back with:

Focal slap lesion is seen confined to the superior labrum, extending anteriorly down for 1cm. The anterior-inferior capsule shows capsular tear involving the anterior band of the IGHL. The MGHL is intact. The supraspinatus tendon shows minor articular surface tears with subdeltoid oedema and fluid.

This is basically a foreign language - anyone break it down for me!?

Hi Mary,

Sorry, I'm a newbie SLAP also. Was rear-ended in my car on June 1, 2012, by a girl texting and driving, while I was fully stopped at a red light. Saw her coming full speed in my rearview mirror, and braced my right arm for impact. Had immediate pain in neck, headache and right shoulder. Had MRI 2 weeks later due to pain, stiffness and worsening ROM. MRI showed SLAP tear diagnosis (along with rotator cuff tendonosis: possibly pre-existing, but never caused pain or notable problems). Here's what I know. No matter what technical words are used; in lay terms it HURTS and after 4 weeks of P.T. it has improved but my O.S. is leaving is up to me if I want surgery or live with it. I'm an older gal, yes, but I am an avid cyclist and a competitive sculler and still don't kknow which way to proceed. Either way, it seems that the shoulder will never be the same and I may never be able to lift a boat off the racks and into the water easily again.

The other driver's insurance company may or may not assume full monetary responsibility when all is said and done.

Without digging too deeply into the technical MRI language....what activities do you participate in that have been and will be affected on a daily basis, what is your age, and are you considering SLAP repair?

Hi Shelly - I was rear ended at the lights too, by a tradie in a utility truck who was texting & didn't see the red light & stopped traffic.

Day to day life is affected, from housework to my job (admin manager) I'm only 35 but towards the end of the week feel more like 70

Yep, the pain is unbelievable. The only thing that works are anti-inflammatories & cortisone shots, but seriously.... How long can I keep that up?

I used to be really into the gym, bush walking & horse riding but with the bulging discs & this, it's more trouble than what it's worth!

The other drivers insurer didnt want to authorize an MRI, so I went out and got it done myself - best $600 I've spent as I now know what the problem is - they were 'encouraging' me to see a pain clinic psychologist - like it's all in my head!! Can you believe it!!I

I hope you find resolution, & get back to your cycling & sculling (no idea what that is!!)

Hi Shelley and Mary,

I also got my shoulder injury when I was rear ended whilst stationary at traffic lights; the other driver admitted full liability so I thought it was going to be straight forward. After months of continued shoulder pain his insurers agreed to send me to a shoulder specialist, it then took another 3 months for them to arrange an MRI - this didn't show the specialist as much as he wanted so he then referred me for another MRI but with dye injected into my shoulder. The 2nd MRI was very painful as they made me lay with my arm above my head - my shoulder would hurt raising my arm to brush my teeth so you can imagine how uncomfortable the scan was.

18 months after the accident and finally my SLAP tear was diagnosed, during those 18 months my shoulder pain increased ad my ability to go to the gym, do diy etc dropped off considerably! And then the fight began......faced with the expense of my surgery the insurers suggest the injury was pre-existing and wasn't caused by the accident, which they are now describing as a low impact accident.

As I live in the UK I was able to take my scans to my doctor who arranged my surgery through the NHS. I had my surgery last week and my surgeon recorded the procedure for me. He has told me the only damage in my shoulder was the SLAP tear and he believes this can be attributed to the accident - I now have to rely on my solicitor to fight my case.

One moment of distraction for they guy that hit me has resulted in 2 years of constant pain and restricted activity. I hope the surgery has been a success, its going to be about 6 months before I know if I can resume all the sports I love playing.I know surgery doesn't come with any guarantees but I couldn't put up with the pain any longer and more importantly for me I need to get back to my active lifestyle so its worth the gamble.

Fingers crossed.

Mich