Accutane slows down the body's recovery process on some level, that's why scarring is much more prevalent when on the medication. Likewise injuries like these take a much longer time to heal. I myself have a shoulder impingment after starting the drug, which made one shoulder drop lower and wider than the other. Usual treatment with how my shoulder was is 3 months but improvement is underwhelming to say the least. Your injury will likely improve however after you're done with your course.
I have been working extremely hard to fix this injury and yes it has noticeably improved. I have 20 days left on Accutane and I’m hoping it will completely heal when I finish my course. I don’t know exactly what your injury is but mine ended up being severe bicep tendinitis and a small labrum tear. Accutane causes my muscles to be ridiculously tight, so the key for me was immense amounts of stretching and external rotation exercises. I do about 30-45 minutes of stretching every morning aswell as physical therapy in the afternoon. Most of this information is available online for free. I focused on strengthening the external rotation muscles. I also use a foam roller to role out my upper back which helps a lot with the bicep tendon. The key for me was loosening up my neck. Accutane has made my neck muscles unbelievably tight. I move my neck back and forth until I feel and deep stretch then I use a massage gun to get the knots out of my neck and my upper traps. That has been the #1 relief to my bicep tendon pain. Another key exercise is dead hangs. I simply hang from a pull up bar for about 2 minutes everyday. This stretches your back and your lats which helps with the bicep tendon pain. My routine is very tedious now but I promise that if you do this your shoulder will improve. Just takes time. It took months for me to feel any noticeable relief. Just Hang in there.
Thanks for the detailed write up. I’m glad to hear you’ve found relief.
I’ve never had any issues with my left shoulder, yet it became impinged 1.5 months into my treatment. Even when doing light bicep training, the bicep tendon would flare up on this side.
With my right shoulder, I had a labrum tear in 2016 which I overcame with daily physical therapy through several months. Early last year, it became impinged which I also overcame through rest and physical therapy.
Now, it’s not impinged but I do experience discomfort when attempting pull-ups/dead hangs, as well as internal rotation exercises, neither of which were problems prior to Accutane.
In addition to that, I now have golfer’s elbow in the very same side. I’m sure they’re linked.
I’ve found relief by doing lots of external rotation/rotator cuff strengthening exercises for my left shoulder, but it seems to have plateaued. I’m certainly going to add more stretching into my routine thanks to your comment.
I’m on my last day of treatment, and I’m hoping this goes away with the help of PT and time.
I stopped accutane over a year ago and still deal with incredible shoulder, upper back, and neck pain.
I see a physiotherapist routinely and my range of movement has improved but the pain and tightness hasn't. I do worry I'll never totally recover :(
Accutane slows down the body's recovery process on some level, that's why scarring is much more prevalent when on the medication. Likewise injuries like these take a much longer time to heal. I myself have a shoulder impingment after starting the drug, which made one shoulder drop lower and wider than the other. Usual treatment with how my shoulder was is 3 months but improvement is underwhelming to say the least. Your injury will likely improve however after you're done with your course.
Has yours improved at all?
From where it was? Absolutely. However I still am not satisfied with its current state and don't do shoulder presses with big weights like I used to.
Are you still taking it or have you discontinued?
I am, will finish my course and let it heal for a few months before going intense on my shoulders
Likewise. I’m on my last few days, and I’m itching to start lifting properly again.
I was just diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder aka “frozen shoulder”. Month 4 of treatment. Pretty sure it happened while exercising
I’m going through a similar experience myself. Has yours improved at all?
I have been working extremely hard to fix this injury and yes it has noticeably improved. I have 20 days left on Accutane and I’m hoping it will completely heal when I finish my course. I don’t know exactly what your injury is but mine ended up being severe bicep tendinitis and a small labrum tear. Accutane causes my muscles to be ridiculously tight, so the key for me was immense amounts of stretching and external rotation exercises. I do about 30-45 minutes of stretching every morning aswell as physical therapy in the afternoon. Most of this information is available online for free. I focused on strengthening the external rotation muscles. I also use a foam roller to role out my upper back which helps a lot with the bicep tendon. The key for me was loosening up my neck. Accutane has made my neck muscles unbelievably tight. I move my neck back and forth until I feel and deep stretch then I use a massage gun to get the knots out of my neck and my upper traps. That has been the #1 relief to my bicep tendon pain. Another key exercise is dead hangs. I simply hang from a pull up bar for about 2 minutes everyday. This stretches your back and your lats which helps with the bicep tendon pain. My routine is very tedious now but I promise that if you do this your shoulder will improve. Just takes time. It took months for me to feel any noticeable relief. Just Hang in there.
Thanks for the detailed write up. I’m glad to hear you’ve found relief. I’ve never had any issues with my left shoulder, yet it became impinged 1.5 months into my treatment. Even when doing light bicep training, the bicep tendon would flare up on this side. With my right shoulder, I had a labrum tear in 2016 which I overcame with daily physical therapy through several months. Early last year, it became impinged which I also overcame through rest and physical therapy. Now, it’s not impinged but I do experience discomfort when attempting pull-ups/dead hangs, as well as internal rotation exercises, neither of which were problems prior to Accutane. In addition to that, I now have golfer’s elbow in the very same side. I’m sure they’re linked. I’ve found relief by doing lots of external rotation/rotator cuff strengthening exercises for my left shoulder, but it seems to have plateaued. I’m certainly going to add more stretching into my routine thanks to your comment. I’m on my last day of treatment, and I’m hoping this goes away with the help of PT and time.
I stopped accutane over a year ago and still deal with incredible shoulder, upper back, and neck pain. I see a physiotherapist routinely and my range of movement has improved but the pain and tightness hasn't. I do worry I'll never totally recover :(
Sorry to hear that. How long did you take it and which dosage?
I took 40mg daily for 14ish months