Does anyone have any experience with Shoulder Injury Relating to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA)?

chiarieds

As can be seen from the medical literature, physiotherapy is one of the modalities used in treating SIRVA (the other main one being corticosteroid injections). Please see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34239193/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31771864/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34185028/

water

Thanks to all for feedback. I will update you guys about my scan result. 

chiarieds

Hi @water - good that you will update us all following your scan. Just to reiterate the type of exercise that can initially help, see Stage 1 in the following guide: https://nhsforthvalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Shoulder-general-exercises.pdf   which is a slight modification to that I mentioned, which does help if you feel unstable doing this without any support.

Adrian_Scope

We’ve edited and removed a number of comments from this discussion that breach our house rules.

I know there is some concern about the advice being given, however we do not feel that anything advised constitutes medical advice.

Gentle exercise is recommended for shoulder pain. 

AmyS1992

@lisathomas50 @Adrian_Scope

Hello - OP here. I’m not sure if removing the thread was being considered but just wanted to highlight how important this thread has been for those in the same boat as me. It took 8 months to receive a SIRVA diagnosis. Other than the Facebook group and this thread, there aren’t any other opportunities to connect with sufferers. 

As a side note, I was sent to physio without having had a scan and was told this was normal practice. It was only when the first physio didn’t help and I pushed for a scan than I was able to get an ultrasound. 

corrie59

That mark above deltoid going into my bursa is clothing ….mmmm,
!!! Not a vest top x

corrie59

That mark above deltoid going into my bursa is clothing ….mmmm,
!!! Not a vest top x

corrie59

Unable to post scan… 

corrie59

Unable to post scan… 

corrie59

Unable to post scan… 

MarkM88

corrie59 said:

That mark above deltoid going into my bursa is clothing ….mmmm,
!!! Not a vest top x

So you mean on the picture of the scan? As I don’t think it’s posted. 

rosiewln

Hi there, I had thought my SIRVA injury had healed about 7 months ago, but in the last couple of weeks it has flared up again, almost 1 year on from the jab that initially caused it. I don't know what the trigger has been, but I am feeling despondent that this will he an ongoing issue.
Has anyone experienced the same, with the pain returning?
Back to the daily stretches, which will hopefully help.

corrie59

Been diagnosed with sirva via msk team.. 14 months later, awaiting surgery now.. any law companies in uk will take the case on?

HelloEadesie

I too suffered frozen shoulder following a SIRVA injury after the Covid 19 vaccine. This left me in agony for well over a year with little help from the NHS. This is not anti vax at all as I had my booster in my thigh. This injury is far more common than we are led to believe. 

McShelbo

Interesting to see we're not alone with SIRVA. 
I attended my Booster Jab appointment just before Christmas '21 to be offered on the spot a free Flu Jab which they were offering at the same time.  Had the COVID Booster in my left arm and the Flu jab in my right arm.  Naturally, both shoulders were tender for a couple of days, however, the shoulder where the Flu jab was administered progressively got stiffer, very sore, felt very heavy and the range of movement got less and less as the weeks went on.  Sleep was a major problem (I am usually a really heavy sleeper) and I was waking up several times per night in pain. For about 2-3 months, I just tried to ignore it and rubbed Ibuprofen Gel around the painful area. 
Eventually, I did some internet research and all the SIRVA 'symptoms/circumstances' matched exactly what I was experiencing. In hindsight, the injection was administered crazily quickly by a St Johns volunteer and probably explains how the Deltoid muscle was missed/partially missed.
I finally gave up suffering in June after 6 months of progressively worse pain and went to see my GP for a diagnosis and referral letter (private medical cover) if any treatment was deemed necessary.  After examining me, the GP got quite defensive when I (quite politely) asked if there was any chance of Vaccine damage. The question remained unanswered and I was given a referral letter to go see a private physiotherapist to get the movement back in my shoulder and promptly encouraged out of the practice sharpish.
Anyway - roll forward two more months and I'm just about to undertake the last of 10 physiotherapy appointments. The range of motion has massively improved and the constant pain has diminished. I can still feel shoulder stiffness and still have reduced mobility in the shoulder.  
Interestingly the Physio said she had heard from contacts in her industry they are seeing more and more instances of SIRVA through the COVID Years of badly administered vaccines. She was 100% confident in diagnosing me with SIRVA given that the timings and symptoms were impossible to put down to chance.  Nothing else in my lifestyle changed to have led to the injury. 
Hopefully with the Physiotherapy sessions and ongoing exercises, I'll be back to my usual self in time.
Wishing everyone else the best of luck and happy to share my story if it helps others.
M

Karen7788

chiarieds said:

Hi @lisad75 & llahl55 & all - just to add to the videos lisad gave a link to, may I add another simple exercise. By way of explanation I'm a (long retired) physio. This is an exercise I found effective in patients with a frozen shoulder, i.e. with limited movement & pain. I also used it following damage to my own shoulder, & when twice I had a partially frozen shoulder.

Try this as a first gentle exercise. Stand & put the foot of your unaffected side slightly forwards so you have a comfortable base. Lean forwards, letting your affected arm hang. Now swing your arm backwards & forwards within your pain-free arc. Do this gently for a couple of minutes. Next try moving your hand in a comfortable circle first one way, then the other. Gravity thus helps aid movement, & you can increase the range as you progress, always moving your shoulder within your pain-free arc. Don't push through the pain as this just increases the pain cycle. Try this a little & often throughout your day. Hope this may help you all improve that bit faster.

@chiarieds,
I do the exercises that you have described when I get flares in my shoulders (which I often do), they are really helpful and don’t cause any pain. 

chiarieds

Hi @Karen7788 - really pleased these exercises help, &, as you say, they don't cause any pain.

JanCat

Only just been made aware of SIRVA (August 2022), 9 months after Pfizer BioNTech booster (November 2021).  I have received a diagnosis of subacromial-subdeltoid bursitis following a private ultra sound scan.  Annoyed with myself for not seeking help sooner. 
It was one of the GPs at the local surgery who administered the booster, I did think at the time the injection site was too high and too far back (as I could not see it without looking at it in the mirror) compared to the two A-Z vaccines I had received previously.  Pain in arm within 24 hours of booster administration, accompanied with a red and inflamed injection site, but these were listed side effects to expect following the booster.  Pain in arm continued and continues and after 2 months pain and gradual loss of movement in shoulder ensued.
As others on this site, cry out with pain at times.  Cannot get more than 3 hours sleep in one go without being woken by excruciating pain.  Have just had a steroid injection so hoping for some improvement over the next few weeks.  TENS machine used for pain relief, really just distraction therapy, as oral painkillers do not kill the pain and give me acid reflux, expecially NSAIDs.

jools43

Hi, I had the same diagnosis from my pain after my first Covid jab  but it was never ever acknowledged that it was caused by the wrong administration of the injection - I’m extremely angry about that! To give you a bit of hope my symptoms started to disappear about 12 months down the line (I will never have an injection in my arm again) and now 18 months later I have no discomfort. I hope you too find it recovers in time. 

HelloEadesie

Same for me, my sore arm never recovered and then I ended up in agony. 12 months later , after paying privately etc I have 95% movement and I am virtually pain free. Several months of suffering and no more injections in my arms.