SIRVA Isn’t a Diagnosis: 5 Vaccine Shoulder Injuries You Should Know

When getting a vaccine, a patient may experience a rare side effect known as SIRVA, which stands for Shoulder Injury Related to Vaccine Administration. It can happen when a medical professional administers a vaccine too high or too deeply into the shoulder. The misplaced vaccination can hit a nerve or penetrate the shoulder capsule, causing intense shoulder pain and inflammation. 

SIRVA itself isn’t a diagnosis, however.

Rather, it’s an umbrella term to describe that a vaccine caused someone’s shoulder injury. Shoulder injuries caused by vaccinations look just like any other shoulder condition caused by accidents or repetitive activities. 

In this article, we cover five shoulder injury diagnoses that can be caused by an improperly administered vaccine. We also explore how SIRVA injuries are diagnosed, as well as common SIRVA symptoms and treatment options. 

If you have recently suffered a shoulder injury from a vaccine and are ready to discuss your compensation options with an attorney, we are here to help. We offer free consultations with no obligation every day, and our representation comes at no cost to you if we file your claim in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Give our office a call to get yours started: (312) 578-9501. Otherwise, keep reading to learn more about SIRVA. 

5 SIRVA-Related Diagnoses: Shoulder Injuries from Improper Vaccine Administration

You get a vaccine. Immediately, you feel a sharp pain in your shoulder that you don’t normally experience. You write it off, but as time goes on and days turn into weeks, the pain isn’t getting better. In fact, it’s getting worse. You can’t sleep at night and doing daily routine activities start to feel almost impossible. You aren’t quite sure what’s happening, so you call your doctor’s office to make an appointment. 

The day comes to visit with your doctor, and they ask some questions, do a physical exam, and maybe order an MRI of your shoulder. You’ve done some research beforehand, and you expect your doctor to diagnose you with SIRVA, but they don’t do that. Instead, you’re diagnosed with something else that seems related to the issues you’re having, but you don’t understand.

As we stated above, SIRVA isn’t a diagnosis. It’s a term to help understand how you were hurt. Your doctor may know about SIRVA as well, but they will never officially diagnose you with it. They may note in your medical records that your shoulder injury and pain started after receiving a vaccine. 

In this situation, you may be diagnosed with one of the following shoulder injuries:

Frozen Shoulder Syndrome (Adhesive Capsulitis) 

Frozen shoulder syndrome happens when the capsule of connective tissue in your shoulder thickens and tightens around the shoulder joint. As a result, the range of motion in the shoulder becomes reduced.

Typical symptoms of frozen shoulder from a vaccine include:

• Severe shoulder or arm pain that starts within 48 hours after receiving a vaccination. 
• Restricted range of motion that progressively gets worse over weeks and months. 
• Tenderness in the shoulder.

Frozen shoulder often slowly progresses in three stages. Each stage can last for several months.

• Freezing Stage. At first, when you move your shoulder, you will feel pain. Your shoulder’s range of motion begins to become limited.
• Frozen Stage. Your shoulder pain may possibly become more minor at this stage. However, your shoulder will stiffen, and you’ll find it more difficult to use it. It will feel stuck in place. 
• Thawing Stage. Finally, you begin to regain the range of motion in your shoulder that you lost.

Rotator Cuff Injuries or Tears

The rotator cuff is composed of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that surround the shoulder joint to keep the arm bones in the shoulder socket, according to the Mayo Clinic. Whenever a vaccine is injected improperly, the shoulder joint can become inflamed, causing damage to these tendons and muscles.

The rotator cuff is a vital part of the shoulder joint and is essentially the reason for its movement. Should it be harmed due to a vaccine injury, it won’t only lose its range of motion, but you could also possibly experience a rotator cuff injury. Symptoms to watch out for include: 

• Shoulder pain within 48 hours after receiving the vaccine.
• Reduced sleep.
• Arm weakness.
• Reduced range of motion in the affected shoulder. You have trouble doing daily activities such as brushing your hair. 

Shoulder Bursitis

According to Johns Hopkins, shoulder bursitis happens when the bursae, which are sac-like structures in the shoulder that reduce friction between tendons and bones, become inflamed. After the inflammation sets in, it can be extremely painful. Normally, the bursae are almost like paper, but when inflamed, they can become filled with fluid almost reaching to the thickness of cardboard. In rare cases, the bursae can even become infected with bacteria, potentially leading to more serious problems. 

Bursitis from vaccine administration can happen when either the needle goes too deep in the arm, or the angle of the needle is wrong. During the injection, the bursae are pierced. Should this happen, you can expect the following symptoms: 

• Local tenderness and redness where the vaccine was administered. 
• Shoulder pain within 48 hours after receiving the vaccination. 
• Limited range of motion.
• Swelling and inflammation. 

Shoulder Tendonitis

Shoulder tendonitis occurs when instead of tearing, the rotator cuff tendons become inflamed. The inflammation will cause the tendons to thicken, resulting in shoulder pain. Shoulder tendonitis can also be called rotator cuff tendonitis.

If you recently received a vaccine and are concerned that your pain may be due to shoulder tendonitis, these are the key symptoms to look out for:

• Inability to move your arms and shoulder in certain ways/directions
• Shoulder soreness and pain
• Pain increasing at night

Impingement Syndrome (Swimmer’s Shoulder) 

Impingement syndrome happens when the tendons of the rotator cuff are pinched between the top of the upper arm and the shoulder.  Again, this causes inflammation in the tendons and muscles in the shoulder joint, leading to immense pain.

Should you be worried about a possible impingement syndrome diagnosis, the key symptoms to look out for include:

• Shoulder pain that starts and progressively gets worse following the first 48 hours of your vaccination
• Shoulder and/or arm weakness
• Tenderness in your shoulder. 
• Pain when lifting your arm

Is SIRVA Permanent?

As you can see, most of the common conditions associated with SIRVA are very similar. It’s why we highly recommend folks who are experiencing any shoulder pain and troubles following a vaccination seek more information from their medical care provider. Your doctor is your best resource on not only what’s happening in your shoulder and arm, but also how to treat it. 

With nearly all of these conditions, you can expect a similar experience. Typically, your doctor will do a physical examination of your shoulder and most likely recommend an MRI to see what’s happening. From there, after pinning down your official diagnosis and condition, your course of treatment can be outlined and started. 

Again, the course of treatment for almost all of these conditions is usually the same.

Physical therapy is typically the first step in order to preserve and possibly regain the range of motion in the shoulder. This is accompanied by either over-the-counter or prescription medication for your shoulder pain. 

If physical therapy and painkillers aren’t enough, steroid injections have also proven to help some folks with their SIRVA injuries. Should all else fail, in very rare and severe cases, a doctor might recommend that you undergo surgery to repair your shoulder injury and remove scar tissue. 

You may wonder if SIRVA is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. The bottom line is: Your recovery depends on your SIRVA diagnosis and treatment.

With the right treatment plan, most people with a shoulder injury from improper vaccine administration recover within a year or two. However, some people may experience long-term shoulder pain and limitations. 

We can’t stress how important it is for you to seek medical attention as soon as you think there is something wrong with your shoulder after a vaccination. Every case is different, but a doctor will always be able to help you. 

There Is Hope After a SIRVA-Related Diagnosis. Contact Our Vaccine Injury Team Today.

There is compensation available for those who have been injured by an improperly administered vaccine. It’s called the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). This is a federal program, so it helps people recover from their injuries across the U.S. 

In order to receive compensation, you must be able to prove your injury was due to a vaccine that is covered under the program and file the claim within the statute of limitations (3 years).

At Shannon Law Group, we help people recover emotionally and financially from their vaccine injuries by filing petitions on their behalf at no cost to them. The VICP pays for attorney’s fees and additional costs of all vaccine injury claims. 

If you or a loved one has experienced a shoulder injury from a vaccine, we are here for you. Our team of compassionate and experienced vaccine injury attorneys is ready to help you. We’re just a phone call away. Schedule your free consultation today at (312) 578-9501 or by filling out the form on this page.