Most people think about the neck first when a crash leaves them sore, and the shoulders get forgotten. Yet the shoulder and upper back do a lot of quiet work every day. They carry bags, lift a child or a laundry basket, hold a phone between ear and shoulder, and steady you when you reach for a high cabinet. In the days after a crash, those ordinary tasks can change in ways that are easy to shrug off. This note is a way to write them down before a visit in the St. Louis metro, so the examiner hears details rather than a general impression.
Start with the ordinary load
For three days, keep a short list of what you carried. Write down the bag, the box, the grocery sacks, the child, the basket of clean towels. Note roughly how heavy each one felt and which arm or side took the weight. You do not need a scale. Lines like 'one full tote on the left arm' or 'backpack on both shoulders' are enough. The goal is to notice which items you used to carry without thinking and which ones you now set down, shift to the other side, or hand to someone else.
Also note what you did to avoid a load. If you started carrying everything on one side, stopped reaching into the back seat, or began leaning a shoulder against the doorframe while you waited, write that down too. People often adjust without realizing it, and those adjustments are useful information for an examiner to hear about.
Write the task, not the feeling
A sentence like 'my shoulder is off' is hard to use at a visit. A task is easier to describe. Try three parts for each entry: what you were doing, which side or area was involved, and what happened next. For example, 'lifting a pot from the stove, left shoulder, caught high in the blade, put it down.' Keep each entry to one line. Plain notes like these help you recall details when you are sitting in an exam room and the questions come quickly.
Write the entries the same way each day. Consistency matters more than length. If one day you wrote a long paragraph and the next day you wrote a single word, the log becomes hard to read. A short, steady list is more helpful than a dramatic one that you stop keeping by Thursday.
Note the rhythm
Pay attention to timing. Does the shoulder feel fine in the morning and tighter by evening? Does it catch the first time you lift, or only after several repetitions? Does a long phone call or an hour at the keyboard change how it feels afterward? Write the time of day and roughly how long the task lasted. Patterns such as 'worse after an hour of typing' or 'fine until I lift past chest height' can help an examiner understand what your body is showing you.
If you also keep a neck note, keep this shoulder log separate so each one stays easy to scan. Mixing them can make it harder to tell which change belongs to which area, and the examiner will need both to be clear.
What to bring to your visit
Bring the log along with any notes you already have about the crash, the dates, and any medicines you have taken. Read it over once before you go in, so the details are fresh when someone asks about them. You do not need to name a cause or decide what the problem is. Describing the task, the side, the timing, and the sensation is the job. An examiner will take it from there.
Some changes call for a faster response than a scheduled visit. If you notice new weakness in an arm or hand, numbness that spreads, trouble breathing, a sudden severe headache, confusion, or pain that wakes you and keeps growing, do not wait for your next appointment. Contact a medical professional or emergency services right away. This page is educational only and cannot tell you what is causing any symptom.
Keep the log simple enough to finish in about two minutes a day. A plain list written by someone who lifts, drives, and cooks will tell an examiner more than a long essay written all at once. Your notes belong to you, and you can keep adding to them after the visit, which often helps you see whether things are shifting over the following weeks.