Since this last post, I have been through weeks of therapy followed by months of follow up with the same excersise and increased weight training waiting to see the next doc that could fit me in. I finally had two cortisone shots, one in both shoulders. My question is, without using some sort of x-ray machine, how could this guy know where to position the needle he stuck in me?

He really couldn't other than by using the old method of landmark injections.

There are still many old school docs out there that do injections without floroscopy because it was the best that was had when they got into medicine but there is no way I would be having injections around my spine without the use of floroscopy. There is no reason to not use it and it is the best way to pinpoint the right location and also repete the injection at the same location if the earlier injection was successful.

Thanks for the reply. I am going for a follow up visit next week and will question the doc about this. It's been about a week since the shot's and I can say they have probally did more harm than good seeing the same old pain's are there along with some new one's which make my bicep muscle's feel like I over did an arm workout. Will up-date later, I guess the experiment's are not over yet!

I have no doubt that it did put you in more hurt than before. Those procedures are really intense and to do it blind makes no sense.

You may want to follow up with him but go back to your family doc and get a referal to a reputable spine doc that uses more modern methods of practice.

Your cervical spine is the easiest to break and the most difficult to fix. It is imperative that they not make a mistake in there.

You would do good to go to www.Spineuniverse.Com and also www.Spine-health.Com

and read about injections and success vs. Failures and other procedures as well.

Good luck steevo, like you, me, coastie, buttons and others are on the long, long, long, long, long, road to possible painless life. (i hope at least)

Hey thank's again, i'll use your advice and get a second opinion. We have to keep trying. Will post later.

I went back for a second set of crtisone injections after talking with the doc. The first set without x-ray were put into the rotor cups which are fairly large in comparison to where he put the second one's. These were done under x-ray, with a dye and put directly into the shoulder joint. I don't really know the difference but it did seem to help. It's only been two day's with minimum activity so I can't say yet if it completely took the pain away or not but so far it has done some good. Will post later as I learn more.