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

DonnaM01

Hi all 
I’ve had exactly the same happen from my 2nd vaccination 7 weeks ago. Still lots of shoulder pain and restricted movement of upper arm (Its like a t-Rex at the moment??‍♀️) and not been able to work for this whole time as I’m a support worker so need both arms to do my job safely ?
ive had a physiotherapist say my injection was too high in my arm and not hit the muscle and am now awaiting an ultrasound next week and MSK physio after diagnosis of what’s happened.
can I ask who do I report this to ? What is the yellow card system ? 

I hope this isn’t the case but it’s looking very likely to be SIRVA and I can’t seem to find any answers for this in the uk ?

ab21

I have had extreme arm pain since my first vaccine.  It was administered right at the back of my shoulder.

The pain has been awful and limited mobility. I have had an ultrasound which has showed nothing - they said issue was deeper.  I have an mri next week which i hope shows whats going on.

Doctors have been denying anything was done incorrectly. I went for my 2nd vaccine today and had arranged to speak to the onsite doctor before hand. She told me there have been several cases of tendonitis and they were now checking vaccines were being administered correctly.

I had my 2nd vaccination in my leg today. It was painless unlike the first. I told the nurse where the first vaccine was administered and she saud it was wrong. 

I reported on yellow card system but no one has followed up. I plan to raise complaint after mri results.

Gailbee

Moderator note:

This post contains unverified claims regarding COVID-19 vaccines. Please refer to official government/NHS information on COVID-19 vaccines.

My husband has had bad left shoulder pain since he had his first Covid vaccination, the Pfizer one, on the 29th January this year. His second injection into his right arm ten weeks later had no effect whatsoever. It has been mis-diagnosed three times, once as the "anti-bodies from the injection fighting each other"!, the second time as a muscular spasm in the deltoid muscle that would wear off slowly, and the third as an abcess in the muscle that required antibiotics and an ultra sound scan, which revealed nothing of that nature. He is due to see the shoulder clinician on the 15th June, through the East Sussex MSK unit, an appointment which was made after today's original appointment was cancelled. The pain has gradually become worse since 48 hours after his first injection. There seems to be a lot written up about SIRVA in the USA and Canada, but I am wondering whether to report this as a Yellow Card, through the vaccine administration, not an actual effect of the Covid vac itself. The more people who have this condition and do report it, the better our GPs will understand it!  

sunny1

I too am having similar issues with my shoulder, my gp prescribed a 2 week course of naproxen, however I am still struggling with pain and limited movement in my shoulder, this started within 15 minutes of my vaccination, I can barely sleep with the pain ? am waiting for a scan. Have you had any improvement with your shoulder??

ab21

Slight improvement but stillvery j comfortable at night and in the day i try not to put excess stress on it. I had the vaccine over 2 months ago.  Naproxen didn't help much. GP gave me codeine but it made me feel ill (it does knock you out though). The pain relieve ended up upsetting nt stomach so i stopped taking. I would press for a scan. Dont take no for an answer.  It isn't normal to get this fron a vaccine.  

chiarieds

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.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @Gailbee I'm sorry to hear that your husband has been experiencing shoulder pain. I'm glad that it didn't put him off receiving the second dose, however. We have had some other users discussing this, as woodbine has linked to. There are also some exercises linked on there that your husband might like to look into. 

As Adrian noted in that thread:

It's worth noting that Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) is a rare complication which is the result of incorrect vaccine administration rather than a specific vaccine itself, and it seems it can occur with any intramuscular injection. You can read a little bit more about it on this document from Salford CCG (NHS).

For anyone else reading, please see these respective patient information leaflets for more information on known side effects:

• Patient information leaflet for Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna
• Information for UK recipients on Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine
• Information for UK recipients on Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca

I hope that his appointment goes well on the 15th

lisad75

Thank you chiarieds, I will certainly add that to my existing exercises. I consulted a GP again today via telephone. A different one than before but from the same practice. I explained physio exercises had improved my range of movements but that the pain persisted and I was concerned at the length of time I have been taking anti-inflammatories. He told me not to worry about that. He said it sounds like rotator cuff tendonitis and to add paracetamol to my daily ibuprofen in order to stay on top of the pain and keep exercising it. I asked if he felt it was related to the injection.  He said not. He explained one of the Covid vaccine side effects is arm pain and that by keeping my arm immobilized at the beginning and sleeping in positions to compensate for the pain, has caused further trauma to my arm/shoulder. I can honestly say I don't really buy this but I'm no doctor so perhaps it is feasible. So I will persevere with exercising and popping pills. He said it could take another 3-4 months. The nights are the worst. Trying to raise my arm from a lying down position is very painful and the fact that I cannot sleep on it makes for uncomfortable sleeping ?

chiarieds

As has been stressed, this occurs due to inaccurate administration of vaccines, & isn't due to the vaccine itself. What concerns me is exercises showing how to increase the range of the affected shoulder joint without apparently taking into consideration any pain. if a movement increases pain, then this builds into the vicious cycle of more pain. I remember myself as a student working alongside qualified physios treating patients with a frozen shoulder, which seems so similar to what a few of you are experiencing....I heard the cries of pain as patients lying on a treatment couch were being put through their range of movements passively. My patients I ensured were not in pain as we did the exercises I mentioned above......gravity makes everything easier.

When my Mum had a frozen shoulder, I taught her these exercises, & altho I can't be certain, again she improved in half the expected time. Exercise gently; remember a little & often, & avoid movements that cause pain.

christinebed1

Good morning. I too have had my 2nd covid jab and am now 2 weeks later unable to sleep because of shoulder and arm pain. I thought I was the only one. Finally getting a phone call from the doctors today the receptionist kept telling me it will go away after a couple of days and take paracetamol. I thought I was going mad because no one would take me seriously. I haven't been able to drive for 2 weeks cos I can't change gear. It takes ages to get dressed in the morning..I found this discussion by accident and realised I am not the only one. I am pleased to have had my 2nd jab because I am alive and protected against the vile virus but I wish it didn't hurt like this. Thanks for listening 

Cher_Alumni

Hi @christinebed1 and a warm welcome to our online community   I'm glad you found us but also sorry you're experiencing pain.  

I think you might have spotted us via this thread about Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA).  Have you reported your pain via the Yellow Card reporting website?  If not, I'd recommend doing that.  

It's great to hear that you're happy to be protected against the virus, and as others have pointed out, SIVRA is a rare complication resulting from incorrect vaccine administration rather than vaccines themselves.  Bearing this in mind, it sounds like you've unfortunately been very unlucky.  

Good luck with your doctor's appointment and please keep us posted with how you get on.  I hope you feel some relief from the pain soon   

christinebed1

Thanks and hello. Will see what doctor says later Will keep you posted 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @christinebed1

Welcome to the community, I'm sorry to hear that you too have experienced this, as Cher mentioned it's something that many of our other members have knowledge of, and it's caused by poor vaccine application rather than the vaccine itself. Hope you feel better soon

MinnesotanInUK

I got my Covid "Jab" here in the UK about a month ago and have had aching shoulder pain ever since.  I'm quite sure mine is a case of SIRVA because I got my injection at a DRIVE THROUGH vaccination center.  This was not my choice, and infact my wife was vaccinated in the same location a week before given via the normal in person method - in a chair, etc.

My downfall was being helpful.  I put my arm up on my car door to make it more easy to access my arm.  Having my arm much more horizontal was not at all accommodated by the person administrating.  I felt immediate  discomfort when the needle  came to rest way too close to what felt like my shoulder joint.  Before I could say anything, the plunger went down, and the shoulder joint discomfort became significant. 

The pain faded, kinda, for a week or so, but instead of getting better, it's seemingly getting worse, affecting my sleep and how I can lay comfortably.  Enough pain that I'm on here on a Friday night looking for advice/info/anything to help.

I have an appt for my 2nd jab on Monday which I would not miss, but you can be sure I'll be discussing my experience and closely watching every shoulder injection I ever get for the rest of my days.  I will now speak up immediately if it looks too high or at the wrong angle!

LancsRose

Hi guys, I received my first dose of Pfizer end of March and from the moment the volunteer injected me I felt discomfort and pain. I just knew something had gone wrong. This was followed by bruising and pain around the injection site. The bruising and pain lasted for about two weeks, so the emergency 111 doctor gave me a 10-day course of antibiotics (this was a telephone triage).  The pain was still constant, not being able to sleep as in so much pain and discomfort. After finishing the antibiotics and the pain remaining, and appearing to be more prominent my GP prescribed Nanoproxen (2 Week course) again telephone triage. This appeared to have no effect in relieving the pain and again I went back to my GP quite distressed that my arm was still causing incredible pain despite pain killers not providing any pain relief. This time another GP spoke to me on the telephone and said that he wanted to examine me at the surgery. He said on seeing my arm, that the person who had administered the vaccine had gone into the nerve and damaged it, prescribing me Neurontin which is something that can help with nerve pain. He was shocked at the fact there was no muscle on the affected arm, comparing it with the other arm. I am now on Neurontin day 2 and I can honestly say I am feeling no pain relief yet. In fact, the pain appears to be more intense and I  am feeling pain in my legs, tingling in my hands and feet. I have been told to take Neurontin for 2 weeks and if that doesn't work to go back and they will try something else. During this time I did have the 2nd dose of the vaccine (in the other arm) and thank God that is fine. I am unable to sleep at night without crying out in pain, unable to get comfortable, and am praying that the Neurontin will work. If not, I will insist on an x-ray or MRI as I am unable to bear this. Really good to be able to share with people who have gone through this too... after over 2 and a half months I really need some solution to end this... 

LancsRose

One last comment, if you experience pain at the injection site and this pain occurs after the vaccination and you had no shoulder problems prior to the vaccine then according to the doctors I have consulted, this is due to incorrect vaccination technique. I hope this helps...

ab21

Sorry to hear of your vaccine issues. I asked for my 2nd vaccine in my leg. It's definitely an option and I made sure a nurse administered it the second time. I would say try and make sure your arm is supported with a cushion when you sleep. It helps a tiny bit. I'm due my mri results next week. It's still not back to normal nearly 3 months in.

LancsRose

Thank you very much for your response. The second dose was administered by a nurse and my right arm is perfectly fine, Sadly, our successful vaccine program has been largely due to a high amount of wonderful volunteers which has resulted in probably more incidences of incorrect vaccine technique. However, I would encourage everyone to have the vaccine ... just make sure it is with a nurse or doctor. Hoping my doctor sends me for an mri and the nerve relief pain tablets start to make a difference soon.. Thanks once again for your response and advice regarding the cushion. 

Tori_Scope

Hi @LancsRose, I just wanted to note that volunteers administering the vaccine do have to go through quite a robust training programme before they're allowed to administer the vaccine. As the St John's Ambulance website outlines:

All volunteers will meet strict selection criteria, mandated by the NHS, and receive appropriate clinical training. This includes official courses developed in partnership with and approved by NHS England. As well as extensive training, they will be subject to assessments and clinical supervision to ensure their own safety and that of everyone receiving the vaccine.

As you say, it's important to encourage everyone who's able to to have the vaccine. Incidences of SIRVA are fortunately rare, but I'm sorry you and a couple of other users have experienced pain after your vaccines.

I hope that the Neurontin does the trick, but definitely do go back to see your doctor if the pain doesn't improve.

llahl55

Hi me again. I hope everyone manages to get the help they need. I have an appointment on Thursday to see my GP (was supposed to be a phone consultation but I didn’t see the point and no one could look at my shoulder so after much complaining I managed to arrange a face to face)  but unfortunately I’ve today tested positive for Covid when doing a home test ??‍♀️ . My appointment has been changed back to a phone consultation so hopefully I’ll still get some kind of advice. It’s typical that I finally manage to get to see someone after 2.5 month of trying and I can’t go ? x