13/08/2021
⚠️Shoulder Pain After Vaccine Injection
After a vaccine injection, you may experience arm soreness or stiffness in the shoulder. For most people, this shoulder pain will only last a day or two and then go away.
However, others will suffer severe shoulder pain from a vaccine that lasts months and doesn’t go away. Although these cases are rare, they have been recognized by medical communities as Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration (SIRVA). It can happen when a vaccine is given too high on the arm or is injected too deeply into the shoulder.
As a result, the shoulder becomes seriously inflamed. SIRVA injuries may affect the shoulder capsule, deltoid muscle, bursa, or the entire shoulder joint. They also can manifest as other conditions, including rotator cuff injuries, bursitis, and frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis).
Shoulder pain after a injection is common, and almost always pain that does occur resolves within a day or two. Many people describe symptoms of a dull ache in the muscle on the outside of the shoulder (the deltoid muscle) that is a result of having the injection placed directly into the muscle tissue.
When this aching sensation occurs, typically an ice pack, some anti-inflammatory medications, and a few days of rest will allow the symptoms to subside. But what if the painful symptoms persist? Could something more be wrong?
🔑SIRVA
SIRVA is thought to be the result of the incorrect placement of the vaccine into the shoulder joint or the shoulder bursa, rather than into the deltoid muscle tissue.
🔴Symptoms
➡️Significant chronic shoulder pain after a vaccination
➡️No prior problems with the shoulder
➡️Limited mobility of the shoulder joint
🔴Treatment
When you have a shoulder injury related to vaccine administration, it’s best to consult with a doctor or physical therapist before starting any treatment.
🔴Here are some of the most effective at-home exercises for SIRVA injuries:
➡️Pendulum. To do this exercise, lean forward and support yourself against a chair or table with your non-injured arm. Dangle your injured arm straight down and draw small circles in the air. Gradually increase the circumference and reverse the direction sometimes.
➡️Arm across the chest. Hold your injured arm out in front of your body near the waist. Put your other hand behind your injured arm’s elbow. Pull your injured arm across your chest using your hand. Hold in this position for 30-50 seconds and then release.
➡️Neck release. Sit up straight. Slowly tilt your chin toward the chest until you can feel the stretch in the back of your neck. Next, lean your head to the right or left to stretch either shoulder. Hold the stretch for a minute.
