By Nick Bryant

I have been trying for several months to see the funny side of a shoulder impingement and so far without any luck. If you have managed to acquire one of these, and around 30% of us will at some time in our lives, then you will be painfully aware of exactly what I am talking about.

I tore my left rotator cuff lifting something that was too heavy. I was trying to be clever and save my back muscles so decided to lift some flat packed furniture with my arms perfectly straight, just bending my knees. The result was that all the weight pulled straight down on my shoulder, stretching and tearing my supraspinatus tendon, one of the four muscles that make up my rotator cuff.

It just happens to be the muscle that runs through a channel of bone in your shoulder. Because it moves through this channel with fairly small tolerances, any swelling ends up with the tendon getting pinched every time you use this muscle.

You very quickly start to realise that although you have been completely unaware of your rotator cuff up 'til now you actually use it nearly all the time. You use it when you lift a cup of coffee - painful, you use it when you tuck your shirt into your trousers - painful, you use it when you scratch your head, reach up, reach out to the side, put your coat on, brush your teeth. Life has suddenly become painful. Like I said, no laughing matter. A grown man being helped into his clothes by his wife all because he pulled a muscle.

It's not actually that simple. Like I said earlier, the swelling causes a shoulder impingement which is basically your tendon getting squeezed against a bone whenever it contracts, which is every time that you use it.. Don't ignore it and try to work through it because that tendon will fray like an overused rope, ignore it long enough and it could even snap. Now that sounds pretty painful too so I would avoid testing out that theory.

After an MRI scan, steroid injections etc, I was told that I needed surgery to shave away a piece of bone. This would free up the swollen tendon, do away with the shoulder impingement and allow the muscle to heal. Now being based in the UK that meant a three month wait for surgery so I started researching to check out other options.

Most shoulder impingements can be treated without surgery, depending on the severity of the injury. The idea with minor injuries is to rest the arm to allow the swelling to go down, try ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and lots of rest. Once the swelling has reduced it is simple light exercises to build the rotator cuff muscles back up. Nothing that works the shoulder too hard and absolutely nothing that causes pain. Do not work through this pain. It is telling you something and that something is to stop using the muscles.

So after a bit of research I started exercising and now, without the surgery I am back to a pain free shoulder. So, I'll be postponing the surgery and waiting to see what the future brings.