Hey! I’m trying to see what type of doctor I should see — an orthopedist or a PCP. As some background, I was pretty stressed last year and started seeing a chiropractor, he told me i had a weak core and needed to exercise it and gave me some strengthening exercisesfor my upper body. The exercise was using a small weight and doing “touchdowns” rotating my arm up and down.

Now I’ve always had an issue with my left arm popping, but when I did the exercises, it got worse. So I stopped doing them. After that, I had issues with movement of that arm. I can’t raise it completely and i have a hard time putting it behind my back. I’m not in pain but it’s getting uncomfortable.

I’m thinking I might have a small tear in my rotator cuff or something similar? My mom had a tear when I was a kid and remember her having similar issues.

Should I see an orthopedist for this or just ask my primary doc?

Also of note, I had a blood clot in that arm about 5 years ago. It’s no longer there, but not sure if that can mess things up? I haven’t discussed with my hematologist yet.

Thanks!