This is not a topic specific to men, but it's from Men's Journal. Steroid injections for pain are a mixed bag - sometimes they help and sometimes they can make things worse (when you can't feel the pain, it's very easy to re-injure).

The study discussed below showed that PT (physical therapy) is just as effective as cortisol injections for pain caused by tendonitis, bursitis, or partial rotator cuff tears.

Why You Want to Skip Steroid Shots for Pain

Credit: Getty Images

To relieve nagging shoulder pain, you might want to skip the steroid injections and try physical therapy instead. A new study found that steroid injections are no more effective than PT for treating pain caused by tendonitis, bursitis, or partial rotator cuff tears.

Researchers gave shoulder pain sufferers either one shot of steroids or six PT sessions over three weeks and then monitored their progress throughout the next year. The two treatments worked equally well. On average, both groups saw 50 percent improvement in their pain levels and shoulder functionality. However, almost 40 percent of the injection group required additional shots to ease their pain, and 19 percent wound up needing physical therapy anyway. All of this, plus the fact that there are health risks involved with injections, leads the researchers to side with physical therapy.

RELATED: A Steroid-Free Back Pain Remedy
 
"Although injections can help decrease pain in the short term, they don't address the underlying issue," says lead researcher Daniel Rhon of Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. "Therefore, you might need more injections and more health care visits in the long run." But getting multiple steroids shots can be risky. "Steroids can weaken and damage tissue if they are used too often," Rhon says. "There's also a low risk of skin reactions and infection."

Physical therapy, on the other hand, does address the root cause of pain and is virtually risk-free, Rhon says. "Manual physical therapy, which includes appropriately prescribed exercises, can certainly help with [the cause of the pain] and should never aggravate symptoms," he says.

This isn't the first study to come down hard on injectable steroids. Last year, Johns Hopkins researchers found that they didn't work any better to ease back and neck pain than injections of a simple saline solution.  

Bottom line? Every case of shoulder pain is different, so you need to thoroughly discuss your treatment options with your doctor. Together, you can weigh out the pros and cons of steroid injections and determine whether that, or perhaps just physical therapy, is the better route. Though Rhon adds, "I think it would rarely hurt to try physical therapy first." 

– Melaina Juntti

From The Conversation, this is another useful refutation of the purported crisis of masculinity. This rebuttal gets it right - the only crisis is in how limited the cultural definition of masculinity.

There’s no crisis in masculinity, only a narrow definition of men

Every generation declares some kind of crisis in masculinity. And women today aren’t shy of pronouncing a masculine emergency: Hannah Rosin did so in her book The End of Men while MP Diane Abbott warned of a disaffected “fight club” generation.

31 January 2014
Damien Ridge - Professor of Health Studies at University of Westminster 
 

 
Men needn’t be at loggerheads over their identity. Eoin Gardiner

Every generation declares some kind of crisis in masculinity. And women today aren’t shy of pronouncing a masculine emergency: Hannah Rosin did so in her book The End of Men while MP Diane Abbott warned of a disaffected “fight club” generation.

But where are the male voices? The few that are in the media like Ally Fogg and recently Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow agree that, for whatever reason, men are not very good at talking openly about (and organising around) the deeper issues affecting them.

But by the end of 2013 the term “meninism” started trending on Twitter, with tongue-in-cheek hashtags like #MeninistTwitter. While some of it took unhelpful digs at feminism, a lot of men surprised themselves about how much they actually needed a forum to talk about being a man today.

Pain is as real for men

The hurt that men feel in life is very real, if only we dared to listen. Every one of the 3,784 male suicides in England and Wales in 2012 – an astonishing 77% of all suicides – tells a painful story, and the repercussions are heartbreaking for their loved ones. It’s often argued that men are just more likely to use effective means to suicide, but the evidence suggests that men face particular pressures, for example financial.

Some feminists are afraid to give men a voice for fear of giving them more power. But my experience as a researcher and psychotherapist is that men open up insightfully when it’s safe to do so. And reflecting on male stories is part of the solution, not the problem.

Whether or not the idea of meninism sticks, the MeninistTwitter hashtag, the declaration by men’s anti-suicide charity CALM that 2014 is the year of the male, and the upcoming Being a Man festival at London’s Southbank Centre, show something is in the air, and I would venture a few observations.

Mind the gap

I signed up to the charter for CALM’s Year of the Male because I thought it was a great idea, even though I didn’t agree with some of its definitions of male roles. Men in the men’s movement sometimes tie themselves in knots trying to relate their own experiences to the yardstick of roles society expects of them.

In research interviews I’ve carried out, men instead reveal how complex their issues are, like about the early care they received (or not) in their lives, their current social circumstances, their identities as men, and their relationships with others.

So it seems to me that everyday men, academics and those in the men’s movement don’t often communicate or understand each other. This is something that could be bridged and hopefully in 2014 we’ll will begin to do this.

Masculinity is a beautiful thing

There is a grain of truth in what feminist Camille Paglia stridently wrote: “The way gender is being taught in the universities – in a very anti-male way, it’s all about neutralisation of maleness.”

As in the media, academics too easily fall into the trap of depicting men as “damaged and damage doing”. Even if there’s acceptance of multiple ways of being masculine, dominant descriptions by academics commonly caricaturise men as emotionally constipated risk takers with no interest in their own well-being or in seeking help.

But depending on the circumstances, men can be very interested in wellness, being intimate with others and in consulting with professionals like counsellors. And the dominant ideals of masculinity are not as toxic as is so often fantasised.

All the world is a stage, and masculinity is defined by the way that men perform in public, and so what is considered masculine can change. At one extreme, in a South African prison, men who had been raped were considered by other inmates to have been de-masculinised even if the encounter was non-concensual. But in some other societies (including by heterosexual men in the west), where homosexuality was once viewed as unmasculine, its increasing acceptance shows that concepts of masculinity can be flexible.

And far from experiencing “crisis”, men and concepts of masculinity adapt to the world. Even dysfunctional “knuckleheads” (men who consciously act in ways that are harmful or risky) reveal hidden insights when given the space to open up and reveal hopes of redemption and acceptance.

It’s not always about power

It is important not to define masculinity so narrowly in terms of power, for example as acts “aimed at claiming privilege, eliciting deference, and resisting exploitation.” This loses sight of other considerations, like the aesthetics and the celebratory side of masculinity. It also risks sidelining the relative confidence and power of women to negotiate emotional relationships with men.

Let’s not forget that men are also shaped by forces not directly linked to gender. For example, unemployment and relationship breakdowns are known to hit men particularly hard, and are clearly linked to suicide.

Meninism (or whatever this emerging space becomes) may overlap with and learn from feminism, but it need not compete with it. Nor does it need to be misogynistic or emotionally constipated, or hostile to feminism. But it does need to involve the men’s movement, and develop its own voice and scholarly concepts separate to feminism.

Examining how men “do gender” while being open to the meanings of male narratives is as good a place to start as any. Research shows that boys and men know instinctively that their own banter, and the social winds that blow, can make it tricky for them to express themselves.

And despite inevitable competitiveness, masculinity can be less toxic than society thinks, and even a positive force for change. To gain momentum, meninism will need to authentically explore institutional forces, our own vulnerabilities, and mistakes as well as triumphs. It’s not about hierarchy of empathy, victimhood or deservedness: both men and women matter equally.

Disclosure Statement

Damien Ridge receives various funding grants (e.g. MRC, Nelsons) to do research related to men and masculinity. He is a Trustee of the male anti-suicide charity, CALM.

The Conversation is funded by the following universities: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, City, Durham, Glasgow Caledonian, Goldsmiths, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, The Open University, Queen's University Belfast, Salford, Sheffield, Surrey, UCL and Warwick.

It also receives funding from: Hefce, Hefcw, SAGE, SFC, RCUK, The Nuffield Foundation, The Wellcome Trust and The Alliance for Useful Evidence

Kate Bartolotta - What Happens When Our Emotions Stay in Our Bodies

This is an excellent article from Kate Bartolotta, posted at the Good Men Project, on what happens to us when we keep emotions locked in the body rather than letting them flow through us as they arise.

For boys and men, this often means sadness, sorrow, grief, rejection and all of the other "soft" emotions that men are taught not to feel - "boys don't cry," "shake it off," or "c'mon, be tough," as just a few examples of the many ways boys are taught not to feel. For men, there are cliches such as "man up," "stiff upper lip," "put it behind you," or "suck it up."

In the words of the AA folks, what we resist persists. We need to stop resisting the feeling and expression of human emotions.

What Happens When Our Emotions Stay in Our Bodies

May 27, 2013
by Kate Bartolotta

It’s never too late to address unexpressed emotion stored in the body as pain, tightness, and discomfort.

When we look at the language we use to talk about emotional reactions, there is often a physical sensation associated as well: a lump in the throat, butterflies in our stomachs, a gut feeling, the weight of the world on our shoulders. This isn’t coincidental! Those visceral reactions are messages from our body.

We hear this referred to as “the mind-body connection.” It’s often associated with using the mind or positivity to help boost the immune system or physically feel better. While that is certainly a helpful boost, we shouldn’t ignore what our bodies can do to help heal our emotions.

Most of us can recall a time growing up where we were discouraged from releasing a painful emotion by well-meaning adults. Parents tell little boys to “be a tough guy” or “shake it off” when they get hurt, while women are encouraged and socialized to discuss their feelings. Our bodies hang on to what happens with our emotions—even if we’ve “talked ourselves out of it.” The physical and emotional impact of unexpressed pain is one that lasts. Unexpressed pain sticks around.

Below are some typical patterns of stored emotion in the body as recognized within the bodywork community. Each person has their own patterns as well, but these are some common patterns :

Infographic courtesy of Nutritional Solutions
Our bodies are aware of the things that our minds would like to push aside. The things that we have forgotten at a conscious level are still present all the time in our bodies. The good news is that it’s never too late to address these issues, and that the results can help with both physical and emotional pain.

A few steps we can take to release unresolved emotion:

• Find a daily physical practice you enjoy. Notice I didn’t say “exercise.” Caring about our health and fitness is important, but the intention here is a physical activity that we love. It helps to choose an activity that quiets your mind a bit. For me, this is yoga. Many people find running to have a meditative quality. It could be as simple as a ten minute quiet walk where you pay attention to your breathing and the sensations in your body. 

• Receive regular bodywork. Therapeutic massage and bodywork are some of the most effective ways I’ve seen (and experienced) for releasing stored emotion. When someone works on those knots in your shoulders you have from long held anger or stress, sometimes emotions will come up. I’ve had clients cry on my table—and sometimes they’ve known and shared why; other times, the pain is old and just hanging on in the muscles, waiting to be released. It’s important to remember that a massage therapist is a facilitator for these things—not a psychotherapist. Through bodywork, we can tap into these stored emotions and begin to process them ourselves, or if needed, with another professional. 

• Make touch a part of your primary relationships. This sounds simple, obvious even. Unfortunately, we have become a very hands-off culture. Fewer and fewer of our daily interactions involve touch. As we rely on social media and smart phones for the bulk of our communication, our relationships often involve less physical contact than we need. Make a point of touching people on the arm or shoulder as you speak with them. Greet friends with a hug. Play a pick-up game of basketball instead of just watching the game. When we begin to remember that we are not just minds stuck inside a body, but body and mind working in concert, we can begin to heal old hurts in a deeper and lasting way.

~ Read more of Kate Bartolotta’s men’s health column, Body Wisdom, on The Good Life. 

Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. - Why We Hide Emotional Pain

Hiding emotional pain - I know women do it, too, but men are taught to be experts at hiding our emotions in general, and our pain in particular. It's not healthy, and it causes infinite problems in relationships.

Dr. Leon Seltzer who blogs at Psychology Today - his blog is Evolution of the Self - recently posted a good article on why we hide emotional pain. Check it out.

Why We Hide Emotional Pain

Strong people won't let themselves cry, right?


Published on September 28, 2011 by Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D. in Evolution of the Self


Who hasn't had the experience of asking someone whether anything is wrong--for it's blatantly obvious from their expression or tone of voice that they're upset--only to have them respond: "No, I'm fine."? In such instances, clearly they're not fine but retreating into themselves to avoid a dialogue they fear might end up making them feel worse.


Tendencies toward denial, withdrawal, and self-isolation are common in reaction to deeply felt emotional pain. In fact, one clue that a person is feeling distressed may be in their becoming unusually quiet or shut down. Such silence speaks volumes, and generally the message is: "I'm not going to risk your hurting me more than you already have . . . so I'm putting a wall between us." On the contrary, it's also possible that the individual might suddenly become fidgety, restless, or hyper--attempting through activity to distract themselves from the hurt your words or behavior (however inadvertently) have caused them. Or they might unexpectedly lose their appetite, or start eating voraciously to "stuff" their feelings or numb their pain. And so on. After all, we have at our disposal all sorts of defenses to protect us from hurting.

The Many Varieties of Emotional Pain

Before going further, let's summarize all the different experiences associated with keenly felt emotional pain. Though the list below doesn't aim to be exhaustive, it probably includes most of the self-referencing assumptions or interpretations that lead to emotional wounding. All of these items relate to feeling, or somehow being made to feel:

• Unworthy or worthless 
• Disapproved of, invalidated, or rejected
• Not listened to or understood
• Like a non-entity--or invisible
• Unloved, not cared about or wanted
• Insulted, disparaged, disrespected, distrusted, devalued, or discounted
• Aggressed against, taken advantage of; betrayed
• Inadequate, defective, incompetent, behind the curve, inferior or looked down upon, unacceptable
• Slow, stupid, foolish or silly; contemptible
• Dishonorable or cowardly
• Embarrassed or humiliated
• Weak, helpless, or defenseless
• Undeserving of time, attention, or recognition
• Like a failure; "loser"
• Guilty, shameful--or a bad person generally

If any of those look familiar to you from your own life, you might like to go read the rest of the post.

Tim Walker - On Men's Pain and Transformation

Over at Beams and Struts, Tim Walker has written an outstanding post - On Men's Pain and Transformation.

This is a crucial conversation for men to be having. For the most part, we are never taught how to hold pain, or how to transform pain, fear, and anxiety into personal growth simply by witnessing them in our bodies and NOT stuffing them down in the unconscious (the body) or in the shadow.

Here is the beginning of the article - I highly recommend you go read the whole thing if this makes any connection with you.

On Men's Pain and Transformation

Written by Tim Walker
"There is no coming to consciousness without pain" – Carl Jung

This article is about pain, its healing, and its transformative importance for men, particularly men in Western, secular culture. It's not to say that this topic isn't important for woman or that the challenges I outline don't translate to woman, but I'm exploring this from a male perspective to attempt to isolate some key hindrances to - and opportunities for - men's transformation. Specifically I'm speaking here of the deep psychosomatic and at times existential pain that comes in moments of personal crisis, loss, identity dismantling, and emotional breakdown – the pain experience that can open us to profound new ways of seeing and being in the world as men.

Since my earliest memories as a child, I remember stuffing emotional pain and hurt out of my awareness – either simply unconsciously as a pattern already set in my individual psyche and the male condition or by external influence from parents, family, father figures, and the pain avoidant Western culture at large. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, I vividly remember the all to common lines, "suck it up!" and "don't be a cry baby!", "boys don't cry", among many others. As a child I swallowed up and began to emulate many of the masculine personifications in television, movies, and play. You know them: Rocky Balboa, The Terminator, Hee Man, Gi Joe, and all other things masculine. At a very young age I learned how (or at least tried my darned best) to be strong, tough, and stoic. I don't mean to say there's anything wrong with these qualities, it's just that my environment and the culture around me provided very little encouragement to experience other essential qualities to healthy development such as vulnerability, openness, and emotional awareness. I know I'm not the only one here. After recently going through a life crisis with probably the most significant emotional pain of my own life I realized that I was very unfamiliar with pain, what do with it, and how to process it in general. After talking with other men during this experience I began to realize that this is a general immaturity among us. Several men I talked to in fact advised me to "just keep busy and keep your mind off it". I began to realize that in our secular, pain-avoidant culture men simply don't have an understanding of the importance of pain nor wisdom or contexts for making meaning out of pain and using it as a catalyst for their emotional and spiritual development.

Go read the rest of the article.

The Heart Of Humanity - Sitting With Our Sadness

A Daily Om from a while back. It takes some serious courage to sit with our sadness and pain and not run away or try to escape. We need to recognize this as a kind of strength and courage in men, and not see it as a weakness, or as feminine.

The Heart Of Humanity
Sitting With Our Sadness

When we are dealing with sadness it is important to really sit with it and have to courage to do so.
The last thing most of us want to hear or think about when we are dealing with profound feelings of sadness is that deep learning can be found in this place. In the midst of our pain, we often feel picked on by life, or overwhelmed by the enormity of some loss, or simply too exhausted to try and examine the situation. We may feel far too disappointed and angry to look for anything resembling a bright side to our suffering. Still, somewhere in our hearts, we know that we will eventually emerge from the depths into the light of greater awareness. Remembering this truth, no matter how elusive it seems, can help.

The other thing we often would rather not hear when we are dealing with intense sadness is that the only way out of it is through it. Sitting with our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can bear the pain and the faith that we will come out the other side. With courage, we can allow ourselves to cycle through the grieving process with full inner permission to experience it. This is a powerful teaching that sadness has to offer us the ability to surrender and the acceptance of change go hand in hand.

Another teaching of sadness is compassion for others who are in pain, because it is only in feeling our own pain that we can really understand and allow for someone else's. Sadness is something we all go through, and we all learn from it and are deepened by its presence in our lives. While our own individual experiences of sadness carry with them unique lessons, the implications of what we learn are universal. The wisdom we gain from going through the process of feeling loss, heartbreak, or deep disappointment gives us access to the heart of humanity.

Tags: The Heart Of Humanity, Sitting With Our Sadness, Daily Om, psychology, sadness, pain, personal growth, courage, men, strength, masculinity