What does a mole on the left or right shoulder mean? What Shoulder Is Your Guardian Angel

Despite the fact that we live in a world of advanced technologies and in an era of rapid development of science, we do not stop believing in ancient signs. Often we blame our bad luck on a black cat that ran across our path or on a broken mirror ... In everything we try to find meanings and secret signs, but we rarely think about the history of the emergence of superstitions and signs.

If we accidentally sprinkle salt, then we will certainly expect a quarrel with a loved one. However, few people know that this sign came to us from Ancient Rus... In the old days, salt was very expensive. Not everyone could afford to have salt on the table. As everyone knows, the guests were then greeted with "bread and salt", thereby showing respect and hospitality. And if the guest suddenly wanted to offend the owner of the house, he dropped the salt shaker. To spill salt is to show disrespect to the owners. Accordingly, a quarrel broke out between the guest and the hosts.

Spit over the left shoulder so as not to jinx it. According to old beliefs, an angel sits on the right shoulder of each person, and a devil on the left. Thus, wishing to protect ourselves from the influence of dark forces, we spit on the devil sitting on the left shoulder.

Broken mirror- Unfortunately. Seven years of grief are waiting for the one who breaks the mirror - this is exactly the belief that was specially invented in Italy by wealthy seniors. When glass mirrors first began to appear in the 15th century, their cost was very high. And the servants of the wealthy seniors often inadvertently smashed them. So the owners had to intimidate all the servants with such superstition, so that they were more careful. There is another version of the origin of this sign, which is based on magical knowledge. According to many esotericists and magicians, the mirror has magical properties and is capable of absorbing the energy of a person. If the mirror broke, then all the energy, both positive and negative, was released outward, causing harm to the person.

If a black cat crossed the road - expect trouble. This sign has many roots in different peoples of the world. The black cat was called the devil's accomplice. It is no coincidence that a black cat is present in many images of witches and sorcerers.

You can't whistle in the house - there will be no money. This superstition came from the ancient Slavs. The ancestors believed that evil spirits communicate with each other precisely with the help of a whistle. Perhaps we are talking about the Nightingale the Robber, who, with his whistle, made people give up all their wealth. Thus, if you whistle at home, you can attract evil spirits, which will whistle all the money.

Since ancient times, people have hung over front door horseshoe. Someone still believes that the horseshoe above the entrance brings good luck. Where did this belief come from? There is a whole legend explaining the origin of this superstition. Once the devil came to the blacksmith and asked him to shoe. However, the blacksmith realized in time who he was dealing with and nailed him to the wall. The devil prayed for mercy and promised that he would fulfill any wish of the blacksmith. Then the master of iron took the floor from the devil. Something will not interfere with those people who will have a horseshoe hanging over the door. There is another version of the origin of this sign. There was a period in Ancient Russia when the metal from which horseshoes were made was extremely expensive. And the poor could not afford to shoe a horse. However, there were times when the poor man managed to accidentally find a horseshoe on the road. Then he was considered lucky. He hung the find above the front door and believed that if luck smiled at him once, he would certainly smile again.

In our life, we often come across these signs. Write in the comments which of these signs brought good luck to you and do not forget to press the buttons and

09.07.2013 15:15

Exists folk omen, according to which, a pimple that suddenly appears on the nose, lip or forehead promises something important ...

Pains and their causes in alphabetical order:

pain in the left shoulder

The shoulder joint is the most unique joint in the human body in terms of its structure and functional ability. However, incorrect and excessive physical exercise on the shoulder joint lead to local inflammatory processes leading to local edema, joint effusion, and even partial rupture of the tendons and muscles surrounding the shoulder joint.

At the same time, the shoulder has one thing in common with the usual mechanism: it can withstand mishandling only up to a certain limit, after which its functions are disrupted. For you, such violations turn into pain.

Mechanism of pain in the left shoulder

Upper shoulder pain can come from the neck. Such pain spreads along the entire length of the arm (including the hand), increases with neck movement, and may be accompanied by numbness or parasthesia. When examining the cervical or thoracic spine, an intervertebral hernia is often found. Damaged intervertebral discs of the cervical or thoracic spine lose their elastic properties over time, flatten, and the distance between the vertebrae decreases. And this means that the nerve roots extending from the spinal cord are clamped, pain arises. At the same time, edema appears in the area of ​​the clamping of the neurovascular bundle, which leads to even greater infringement and increased pain.

Capsulitis is a rare condition of painful stiffness in the muscles of the shoulder girdle. In this condition, there is a limitation in the volume of abduction of the arm to the side when it is raised up and the impossibility of placing the sore arm behind the back. This condition often develops gradually, not noticeable to the patient. Women suddenly find that they cannot button and unfasten their bras. In severe cases, the patient is unable to bring the spoon to his mouth with this hand.

The defeat of the rotating cuff of the shoulder occurs after performing non-standard movements in the arm (for example, painting the ceiling). On the day of the work, there are usually no complaints. The next day - sharp pain in the left shoulder when trying to remove anything from the upper shelf.

The examination establishes the degree of muscle tension in the shoulder girdle, the amount of movement in the left shoulder joint. On radiographs of the joint, as a rule, there will be no changes.

Tendobursitis occurs when reactive inflammation of the bags of the shoulder joint caused by calcifications of the muscle tendons. Characterized by acute pain in the left shoulder and significant limitation of both active and passive movements in it. Usually severe pain in the neck, shoulder girdle and arms.

For what diseases there is pain in the left shoulder:

The most common causes of left shoulder pain are:

1. One of the most common causes of left shoulder pain is inflammation of the tendons surrounding the shoulder joint. These disorders are called tendinitis. Most often they arise from excessive stress. When you saw wood or play golf, tendons rub against bones. Hence - the onset of irritation and pain.

2. Biceps tendonitis (a muscle on the inside of the shoulder that runs from the shoulder to the elbow) is a chronic pain that increases with movement and palpation. In the event of a complete rupture of the biceps tendon, a swelling in the form of a ball appears on the shoulder.

3. Bursitis, this companion of tendonitis and the culprit of left shoulder pain, is also associated with overload. However, it manifests itself in a wider range of disorders: swelling in the area of ​​the joint capsule, the soft sac surrounding the joint, joins the pain.

4. If you have pain in your left shoulder when you raise your arm, it may be due to the deposition of calcium salts, which is causing the ligaments in the joint to become sick. These deposits form in the tendon that runs under the scapula and collarbone. These disorders are called "collision" syndrome. Most often, these processes occur at the age of 30-50 years. Pain in the left shoulder is usually sudden, intense and persistent. Movements in the joint become painful to abduct the shoulder from the body by 30-90. Sometimes the deposition of calcium salts in the joint is detected by chance, while still asymptomatic, during X-ray examination for another reason.

5. Pain in the left shoulder can be associated with traumatic injuries, less often tumors and hereditary anatomical abnormalities. In a fall, the humerus can be displaced in such a way that the upper arm literally flies out of the groove of the joint. Trying to cushion a fall while leaning on the arm can rupture the tendons of the muscles that enable the arm to rotate. Left untreated, these injuries can lead to permanent shoulder dysfunctions over time.

6. In addition to accidents, joint injuries are common among athletes or young people. In the latter case, recurrent shoulder dislocation is common. In adults, injuries to the structures of the shoulder joint occur due to aging, tissue wear, or advanced osteoporosis (a disorder of calcium metabolism in the bones).

7. Pain in the left shoulder is one of the most common problems among bodybuilders along with pain in the lower back, knees and elbows. This shoulder injury can make a number of exercises in the workout impossible. There are many reasons for this, the main of which is the instability of the shoulder joint.
The likelihood of overstretching the shoulder ligaments is significantly increased in key movements such as the bench press, lying with dumbbells, straightening the arms on the machine, and the barbell press behind the head. Pain can occur as a result of stress in the articular bag of the shoulder girdle and excessive work of its muscles, which try to maintain the central position of the head of the humerus in the articular bag for correct work joint. In addition, pain can result from tearing of the cartilaginous ring along the glenoid cavity. The cartilage ring performs several functions: it deepens the glenoid cavity and serves as additional support for the articular bag and the tendon of the long head of the biceps.

8. Very often pain in the left shoulder develops in connection with the disease internal organs and extends to the shoulder, for example, in liver pathology, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, pneumonia, radiculitis cervical and chest tumors.

9. The main manifestation of humeroscapular periarthrosis is pain in the left shoulder. The pain often begins gradually without an obvious provoking factor, is progressive, often "wakes up" the patient at night, and significantly affects the performance of daily activities. Joint movements are painful in several directions. Pain in the arm can include pain in the left shoulder, forearm and hand and be of a different nature: burning, aching, shooting, etc. Pain in other parts of the body can be given to the arm. The course of the disease is different - from several weeks to several months. The outcome is also different - from complete recovery (even without treatment) to the development of a blockage of the shoulder, and in case of the shoulder-hand syndrome - also dysfunctions of the hand.

Depending on which tendons in the shoulder are affected, different movements cause pain in the left shoulder. Limited muscle function as a result indicates the cause of the limitation.
- Pain in the left shoulder when the arm is pulled to the side or when it then moves forward indicates changes in the supraspinal tendon.
- Pain in the left shoulder when rotating outward of the upper arm with the elbow pressed against the body indicates changes in the infraspinal tendon.
- Pain in the left shoulder during rotation in the upper arm with the elbow pressed against the body indicates changes in the subscapularis tendon.
- Pain in the front of the shoulder when twisting the forearm up against resistance is often indicative of long biceps disease.

Other causes of pain in the left shoulder:
- Impigment syndrome (narrowing syndrome).
- Tendon rupture / rotator cuff rupture.
- Calcification of the forearm / Tendinosis calcarea / calcification of the tendon.
- Inflammatory diseases of the shoulder such as Polymyalgie rheumatica are an important exclusionary diagnosis.
- Pain in the left shoulder can also be caused by neurogenic pathology, which is manifested by paresis, muscle wasting and sensory disorders (cervical radiculopathy, cervicobrachial plexopathy, neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, neuralgic amyotrophy, myelopathy).
- The presence of protrusions or hernias of the intervertebral discs of the cervical, thoracic spine.
- Pain in the left shoulder can be reflected pain of a muscle in myofascial syndrome, the tendon of which is woven into the joint capsule.
- Arthrosis, arthritis of the left shoulder.

Which doctor should i contact if there is a pain in the left shoulder

If your left shoulder hurts, you need to see a doctor. Consult a podiatrist (preferably with experience in sports medicine) or a sports doctor who specializes in joint problems. There can be many causes of left shoulder pain, and you need an accurate diagnosis to determine treatment options.

Are you experiencing pain in your left shoulder? Do you want to know more detailed information or do you need an inspection? You can make an appointment with the doctor Eurolab always at your service! The best doctors will examine you, study outward signs and will help to identify the disease by symptoms, advise you and provide the necessary assistance. you also can call a doctor at home... Clinic Eurolab open for you around the clock.

How to contact the clinic:
The phone number of our clinic in Kiev: (+38 044) 206-20-00 (multichannel). The clinic secretary will select a convenient day and hour for you to visit the doctor. Our coordinates and directions are indicated. Look in more detail about all the services of the clinic on her.

(+38 044) 206-20-00

If you have previously performed any research, be sure to take their results for a consultation with your doctor. If the research has not been performed, we will do everything necessary in our clinic or with our colleagues in other clinics.

Does your left shoulder hurt? You need to be very careful about your overall health. People don't pay enough attention symptoms of diseases and do not realize that these diseases can be life-threatening. There are many diseases that at first do not manifest themselves in our body, but in the end it turns out that, unfortunately, it is too late to treat them. Each disease has its own specific signs, characteristic external manifestations - the so-called disease symptoms... Identifying symptoms is the first step in diagnosing diseases in general. To do this, you just need to several times a year. be examined by a doctor, in order not only to prevent a terrible disease, but also to maintain a healthy mind in the body and the body as a whole.

If you want to ask a question to the doctor, use the section of the online consultation, perhaps you will find answers to your questions there and read self-care tips... If you are interested in reviews of clinics and doctors, try to find the information you need on. Also register on the medical portal Eurolab to be constantly updated latest news and updates of information on the site, which will be automatically sent to you by mail.

The symptom map is for educational purposes only. Do not self-medicate; for all questions regarding the definition of the disease and methods of treatment, contact your doctor. EUROLAB is not responsible for the consequences caused by the use of the information posted on the portal.

If you are interested in any other symptoms of diseases and types of pain or you have any other questions and suggestions - write to us, we will definitely try to help you.

There is a well-known church anecdote. Somehow the abbot of the church comes to accept the work of an icon painter. And suddenly he sees that the angel is depicted in such, you know, very real shoes. The abbot was indignant and asked: "Where are you, dear, saw an angel in boots?" And he answers: “Interesting! And where did you see the angel without shoes? "

The meaning of this parable is obvious. The overwhelming majority of people have not seen angels in their lives and, therefore, do not get information from their own experience or the experience of their immediate environment. In Orthodoxy, there are many sources of knowledge and many approaches to the question of their reliability and authority.

Of course, the basis of Christian knowledge is the Holy Scriptures or the Bible. There is also experience church life, the experience of communion with God, some of which was somehow reflected in many texts of varying degrees of authority, including not only doctrinal, liturgical, historical, but even folklore. If you approach it formally, then on the basis of these sources you can talk about angels for an infinitely long time and the picture will emerge as an extensive one, it is possible that there will be contradictions in it.

In Christianity, a certain system of building and shaping the doctrine has developed, thanks to which it becomes possible to determine the main and immutable, point out important authoritative additions and give the discretion of Christians secondary points that do not contradict the main thing. This principle was formulated by Blessed Augustine back in the 4th century: in the main there is unity, in the secondary diversity, in everything there is love.

Scripture (Bible) is the book of the church. She wrote by different people over one and a half millennia, but it was collected in a single book and was proclaimed precisely as a written testimony of Divine revelation by the Christian church during the first four centuries of its existence. By the 5th century, the Bible, as a collection of the most important and authoritative books for Christians, had the form in which it exists today; its composition was considered complete and unchanged. All of this is important to us for this reason. There are no books "by themselves", there are books readable and perceived, interpreted in their own way. Since, it is Christian church In the first centuries, she collected and approved the Bible for her needs, then Christians justly assimilate for themselves the indivisible right in the correct understanding and interpretation of the Bible. This does not mean that Christians have a secret teaching with interpretations, their teaching has always been open and accessible not only for study, but also for polemics.

In practice, the system of Orthodox teaching is structured approximately as follows. First of all, there must be clear evidence of Holy Scripture, perceived in the general context of the Orthodox understanding of the Bible. Church councils spoke on some issues, and the more representative the council, the more authoritative and immutable its opinion. Their authority stems from simple principle... At these meetings it was possible to formulate those foundations of the doctrine, which, according to one of the ancient church writers, were recognized by all Christians, at all times and wherever there are Christians.

There is a written heritage of the holy fathers - people glorified by the church for their life and work. The authority of these texts is based on the ascetic religious and moral life of these Christians, on their deep and reliable experience of communion with God, the experience of studying and putting into practice those commandments that were given to us by Christ God in Holy Scripture... However, here we must make one reservation. The most authoritative are those opinions of the holy fathers that are consistent with each other. That is, those questions in which most of the saints expressed themselves in a similar way are recognized as authoritative, even if this issue was not touched upon in Scripture and at church councils.

Only on the basis of the above is it possible to speak of angels. Moreover, it can be argued that the teaching of the Orthodox Church about angels is rather modest. The information provided by Scripture is fragmentary and scattered. It's clear. The central theme of the Bible is the relationship between man and God. Nobody and nothing can overshadow this topic. The most detailed accounts of those creatures that inhabit the space between God and people, characteristic of pagan peoples, are absent in the Bible. Man and God communicate directly. Angels appear on some special occasions and at special moments, and only here some information about them is revealed. Authoritative church councils did not deal with the topic of angels. The Holy Fathers wrote about angels, as a rule, in the same context as the Bible, that is, quite rarely, in a scattered manner; and almost always it was an additional theme in their narrative.

What can be said about angels reliably, proceeding from the main sources of church knowledge?

About angels and angelic ranks

The word "angel" is translated into Russian as "messenger". One of the modern church writers quite successfully, but somewhat rudely, compared angels to postmen. These are the so-called ministerial spirits, created by God for special assignments and functions. Judging by the well-known testimonies of the Holy Scriptures, angels, like people, are personal beings, that is, they have self-awareness and free will. Angels are called saints. This means that they are not partakers of evil and live by fulfilling and showing people the will of God.

The Bible often speaks of angelic armies. Thus, the serviceability of their existence, structural division and hierarchy are revealed to us. However, this can only be judged by guesswork. The Bible names several ranks of angels and even some names of angelic "military leaders". Everyone knows at least two of them - this is Gabriel, who brought the good news to the Virgin Mary, and Michael, who rebuffed the fallen angel - Satan.

By analogy or under the influence of pagan teachings about heavenly hierarchies In the fourth century, a similar work by an anonymous Christian author appeared, inscribed with the name of the saint of the first century, Dionysius the Areopagite. It presents an attempt to give a coherent teaching about angels, which are divided into nine functional ranks, grouped by three. But this topic did not receive further development and does not have sufficient grounds in the Holy Scriptures. In fact, it has remained the private opinion of several ancient authors. Such a detailed teaching should be recognized as consistent with Christianity, but nevertheless an optional element of the Christian faith.

The following topic is important for doctrine. Who are angels, what do they have to do with God and man? Textbooks on doctrine and theology contain something like this. Angels are service spirits created by God for purposes not always led and understood by people. They are called spirits, because their nature is different from that of people, in comparison with the world around us, "immaterial". Angels are in no way involved in the created world, they cannot be "measured" and "detected" by instruments. Yet angels cannot be immaterial in the full sense of the word. In comparison with God, so to speak, their nature is material in its own way.

Demons

The Bible reveals to us that some of the angels consciously and freely refused to serve God, rebelled against Him and thus fell away from the Creator. The reason for this is the pride of one of the "senior" angels - Dennitsa and many of his "followers". The "leader" who fell away from God is called the devil or Satan, which means the enemy of God.

For our topic, it is important to understand that the fallen angels are called demons, devils or demons in Orthodoxy. The meaning of their existence is opposition to God and His creation. In relation to people, this is expressed in the desire to turn them away from God and subjugate them. This can be done in different forms, among which the most obvious are the immoral way of life, pagan, including occult religiosity and outright Satanism.

It is important to understand that the theme of fallen angels is closely related to the theme of human freedom and the ability to manipulate him. According to the sufficiently developed ascetic teaching of the holy fathers, it is quite clear that demons cannot subjugate anyone against his will, moreover, they are not even able to know a person's thoughts. Their method is, as it were, whispering evil, deceit and deception, which can result in sin, despondency, free surrender of one's will to them through constant and unrepentant evil, which brings the sinner into their “nature,” as it were, and gives demons power over him. However, faith in God, the desire to live by faith cannot be overcome by demons. A person always has the opportunity to renounce evil, to live according to the commandments of Christ.

Guardian angels

The biblical revelation says that one of the angelic ministries is caring for people, protecting them from evil, protecting them from demonic obsessions and attacks. Those of the angels who protect people and help them know and fulfill the will of God are called guardian angels. According to the prevailing belief, which fully corresponds to the Orthodox faith, but is not strictly dogmatic, all people have guardian angels. In the most primitive version, this belief is expressed in the belief of some people that such angels are always on the right, and their antipodes, demons, are on the left of each person. Often even this is depicted as two advisers whispering good and evil thoughts to a person, respectively. Of course, this is just a childish naive picture through which folklore reflected the belief in the presence of guardian angels.

The biblical narrative shows that besides people, guardian angels are given by God at His discretion to churches, entire nations, settlements and some societies.

The Orthodox Church has a tradition prayer appeal to angels in general, to specific angels and to guardian angels. It has already been said that angels are free individuals who serve God and take care of His creation. It is natural and even wise to ask angels for help and protection. Orthodox Church encourages Christians to turn to angels with prayer in the morning and evening.

Here are the words of the famous a short prayer: “Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and protector of my soul and body! Forgive me everything in which I have sinned today, and deliver me from every insidious design of the enemy, so that I do not anger my God with any sin. But pray for me, a sinful and unworthy slave, to present me worthy of goodness and mercy Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen."

Shoulder joint it is the most unique joint of the human body in terms of its structure and functional ability. At the same time, improper and excessive physical exertion on the shoulder joint leads to local inflammatory processes, leading to local edema, joint effusion, and even partial rupture of the tendons and muscles surrounding the shoulder joint.

The shoulder has one thing in common with the conventional mechanism: it can only withstand mishandling up to a certain limit, after which it becomes dysfunctional. For you, such violations turn into pain.

Mechanism of pain in the left shoulder

Upper shoulder pain can come from the neck. Such pain spreads along the entire length of the arm (including the hand), increases with neck movement, and may be accompanied by numbness or parasthesia. Examination of the cervical or thoracic spine often reveals intervertebral hernia.

Damaged intervertebral discs of the cervical or thoracic spine lose their elastic properties over time, flatten, and the distance between the vertebrae decreases. And this means that departing from spinal cord nerve roots are pinched, pain occurs. At the same time, in the area of ​​the clamping of the neurovascular bundle appears edema, which leads to even more infringement and increased pain.

Capsulitis This is a rare condition of painful stiffness in the muscles of the shoulder girdle. In this condition, there is a limitation in the volume of abduction of the arm to the side when it is raised up and the impossibility of placing the sore arm behind the back. This condition often develops gradually, not noticeable to the patient.

The defeat of the rotating cuff of the shoulder occurs after performing non-standard movements in the arm. On the day of the work, there are usually no complaints. The next day, sharp pain in the left shoulder when trying to remove anything from the upper shelf.

During the examination, the degree of tension of the muscles of the shoulder girdle is established, the volume of movement in left shoulder joint. On radiographs of the joint, as a rule, there will be no changes.

Tendobursitis occurs when reactive inflammation of the bags of the shoulder joint caused by calcifications of muscle tendons. Is characteristic acute pain in the left shoulder and a significant limitation of both active and passive movements in it. Usually severe pain in the neck, shoulder girdle and arm.

Causes of pain in the left shoulder

One of the most common causes of left shoulder pain is inflammation of the tendons surrounding the shoulder joint. These disorders are called tendinitis... Most often they arise from excessive stress. When you saw wood or play golf, tendons rub against bones. Hence - the onset of irritation and pain.

Biceps tendonitis(a muscle on the inside of the shoulder that runs from the shoulder to the elbow) causes chronic pain that increases with movement and palpation. In the event of a complete rupture of the biceps tendon, a swelling in the form of a ball appears on the shoulder.

Bursitis, this partner tendinitis and the culprit for left shoulder pain is also associated with overload. However, it manifests itself in a wider range of disorders: swelling in the area of ​​the joint capsule, the soft sac surrounding the joint, joins the pain.

If you have pain in your left shoulder when you raise your arm, it may be due to the deposition of calcium salts, which is causing the ligaments in the joint to become sick. These deposits form in the tendon that runs under the scapula and collarbone. These disorders are called "collision" syndrome. Most often, these processes occur at the age of 30-50 years. Pain in the left shoulder it usually comes on suddenly and is intense and persistent. Movements in the joint become painful to abduct the shoulder from the body by 30-90. Sometimes the deposition of calcium salts in the joint is detected by chance, while still asymptomatic, during X-ray examination for another reason.

Left shoulder pain can be associated with traumatic injuries, less often tumors and hereditary anatomical abnormalities. In a fall, the humerus can be displaced in such a way that the upper arm literally flies out of the groove of the joint. Trying to cushion a fall while leaning on the arm can rupture the tendons of the muscles that enable the arm to rotate. If such damage is left untreated, then over time may occur persistent shoulder dysfunctions.

Joint injury in addition to accidents, they are often among athletes or young people. In the latter case, recurrent shoulder dislocation is common. In adults, injuries to the structures of the shoulder joint occur due to aging, tissue wear, or the development of osteoporosis(disorder of calcium metabolism in bones).

Pain in the left shoulder is one of the most common problems among bodybuilders along with pain in the lower back, knees and elbows. This shoulder injury can make a number of exercises in the workout impossible. There are many reasons for this, the main one being the instability of the shoulder joint.

The likelihood of overstretching the shoulder ligaments is significantly increased in key movements such as the bench press, lying with dumbbells, straightening the arms on the machine, and the barbell press behind the head. Pain may result from stress in the articular bag of the shoulder girdle and excessive work of her muscles, which try to maintain the central position of the head of the humerus in the joint capsule for proper joint function. In addition, pain can result from tearing of the cartilaginous ring along the glenoid cavity.

Cartilage ring performs several functions: it deepens the glenoid cavity and serves as additional support for the articular bag and the tendon of the long head of the biceps.

Often, pain in the left shoulder develops in connection with a disease of the internal organs and spreads to the shoulder with the following diseases:

liver pathology;

myocardial infarction;

angina pectoris;

pneumonia;

cervical sciatica;

tumors of the chest organs.

Main manifestation humeroscapular periarthrosis- pain in the left shoulder. The pain often begins gradually without an obvious provoking factor, is progressive, often "wakes up" the patient at night, and significantly affects the performance of daily activities. Joint movements are painful in several directions.

Hand pain may include pain in the left shoulder, forearm and hand and be of a different nature: burning, aching, shooting. Pain in other parts of the body can be given to the arm. The course of the disease varies from several weeks to several months. The outcome is also different - from complete recovery (even without treatment) to the development of a picture of a blocked shoulder, and in case of the shoulder-hand syndrome - also dysfunction of the hand.

Depending on which tendons in the shoulder are affected, different movements cause pain in the left shoulder. Limited muscle function as a result indicates the cause of the limitation. Left shoulder pain when moving the hand to the side or when moving it then forward, they indicate changes in supraspinal tendon.

Pain in the left shoulder when rotating outward of the upper arm with the elbow pressed against the body indicates changes in infraspinal tendon... Pain in the left shoulder during rotation inward of the upper arm with the elbow pressed against the body indicates changes in subscapularis tendon. Pain in the front of the shoulder when twisting the forearm up against resistance often indicates long biceps disease. Other causes of pain in the left shoulder:

Impigmented syndrome (narrowing syndrome).

Tendon rupture / rotator cuff rupture.

Calcification of the forearm / calcification of the tendon.

Inflammatory diseases of the shoulder are an important exclusionary diagnosis.

Pain in the left shoulder can also be caused by neurogenic pathology, which is manifested by paresis, muscle wasting and sensory disorders (cervical radiculopathy, cervicobrachial plexopathy, neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, neuralgic amyotrophy, myelopathy).

The presence of protrusions or hernias of the intervertebral discs of the cervical, thoracic spine.

Pain in the left shoulder can be reflected pain in a muscle in myofascial syndrome, the tendon of which is woven into the joint capsule.

Arthrosis, arthritis of the left shoulder.

At pain in the left shoulder you need to see a doctor. Consult with orthopedist(preferably with experience in sports medicine) or a sports doctor specializing in joint problems. There can be many causes of left shoulder pain, and you need an accurate diagnosis to determine treatment options.

Do demons read a person's thoughts?

- The Monk John Cassian the Roman writes about this. Demons do not know the thoughts of a person, but they certainly know those thoughts that they themselves inspired this person. Again, they cannot know whether we have accepted these thoughts or not, but they guess about it from our actions.

Let's say they instilled in a person a prodigal thought, and he began to look at the face of the opposite sex: aha, that means he accepted. They instilled a thought of anger, the person flushed, began waving his fists (I, of course, exaggerate) - which means he again accepted. After all, if we, looking at the interlocutor, can guess whether he agrees with us or not, then the more demons can guess about it.

As for thoughts from God or some natural ones, they can guess about them from our behavior, but they cannot know them exactly.

When I am alone at prayer and in the dark, I am very scared: it seems that someone is standing behind my back or that with my peripheral vision I see some movement near me. How to deal with this obsession?

- This comes from cowardice and lack of faith. When a person is in solitude, praying or reading spiritual literature, the demons naturally hate it and try to confuse and distract from prayer. And he should try to behave completely freely, boldly, and despise any suggestions. When it seems that you see something with peripheral vision, do not attach any importance to it. If you succumb to these suggestions of the enemy, then he will press more and more. And do not look with peripheral vision: oh, it seems, someone is standing behind my left shoulder! And just take to turn there and see that in fact there is no one there.

The ascetics despised demons, even when they appeared to them with their own eyes, in some form. For example, the Monk Philaret Glinsky talked about himself: once, when he was standing on a cell rule, a cat suddenly appeared and climbed onto his shoulder over his mantle. He ignored her, continued to pray, and she disappeared.

And to us, as the weak, no one will appear, only we will spend our strength on empty experiences. It's scary - cross yourself, and that's it, nothing else. If you are afraid, to avoid all dark corners, then the fear will increase, increase and take possession of you to such an extent that you sneeze and you yourself will shudder with horror.

In addition, we must always remember that without God's permission nothing can happen to us, and the Lord will never allow temptation beyond our strength. It is necessary to be afraid of demons, but in what sense? To be afraid so as not to succumb to their suggestions, not to fulfill their will and not to be with them the enemies of God. And if we try to live according to the Gospel, if we are devoted to the Lord with all our souls, then no one is afraid of us. As the apostle Paul says, "if God is for us, who is against us?"

The devil- a being that God created good, kind, luminous (the Greek word "Eosphoros" and the Latin "Lucifer" mean "light-bearer"). As a result of opposition to God, divine will and divine Providence, the light-bearer fell away from God. Ever since the falling away of the light-bearer and some part of the angels from God, evil has appeared in the world. It was not created by God, but was brought in by the free will of the devil and demons.

It is often asked: why did God allow evil? Isn't there even an indirect fault of God that evil was introduced into the world? It is difficult to answer this question. The Church offers us a teaching that we must accept on faith, but which the human mind is unable to comprehend. The only thing that can be said to explain this teaching is - let's look at ourselves and judge by ourselves. Each of us is a creature created in the image and likeness of God. We are aware of this, we are aware of what our religious vocation is. Nevertheless, we often find ourselves not on the side of God, but on the side of the devil, and we make our choice not in favor of good, but in favor of evil. Something similar happened to the devil himself: created good and luminous, he voluntarily chose evil and became the enemy of God.

Having fallen away from God, the devil and demons became carriers of evil. Does this mean that the connection between them and God has been severed? No. A personal relationship has been preserved between God and the devil, which continues to this day. We can see this from the opening pages of the Book of Job, where it is said that the devil appeared before God along with the angels, among other “sons of God,” and the Lord said to him: “Have you turned your attention to My servant Job?” (Job 1: 8). If I can put it that way, with this question God provokes the devil to take some action in relation to Job. And Satan says: “Yes, indeed Job is righteous, faithful to You, but this is because You created such conditions for him; change these conditions, and he will fall as other people fall ”. To this the Lord answered him that he was giving him the body of Job, but forbidding him to touch his soul. Some understand this story as a parable, others - as real story, but the essence of the matter is that, according to the Bible, the devil, firstly, is dependent on God and is not free in his actions, and secondly, he acts only within those limits within which God allows him.

What should be the attitude of a Christian towards the devil?

Today we are seeing two extremes. On the one hand, there are many Christians today who do not believe in the reality of the devil at all, do not believe in his ability to influence their lives. Some people think that the devil is mythical creature, in which the world evil is personified. On the other hand, there are many people who attach exaggerated importance to the devil, who are convinced that the devil affects all aspects of a person's life, and see his presence everywhere. Such believers are constantly afraid that the devil's forces will affect them in one way or another.

On this basis, there are many superstitions, from which church people are not free. A set of “ folk remedies”That would prevent Satan from penetrating a person. For example, some people, yawning, baptize their mouths so that the devil does not enter through it. Others manage to cross their mouths three times in one yawn. I have heard conversations that an angel sits on our right shoulder, and a devil on our left: making the sign of the cross, we cross ourselves from right to left, throwing the angel from right shoulder to left, so that he entered into a fight with the devil and defeated him (accordingly, Catholics who cross from left to right throw the demon on the angel). This may seem ridiculous and ridiculous to some, but there are people who believe in it. And, unfortunately, these are not anecdotes, but real conversations that can be heard in some monasteries, theological seminaries, and parishes. People who think this way live in the conviction that their whole life is permeated with the devil's presence. I once heard how a hieromonk, a graduate of the theological academy, taught the believers: when you get up in the morning, then cross your slippers before putting your feet into slippers, because there is a devil in each of them. With such an attitude, the whole life turns into torture, because all of it is permeated with fear, constant fear that a person will be “spoiled”, jinxed, that evil spirits will be brought to him, etc. All this has nothing to do with the Christian attitude towards the devil ...

To understand what a truly Christian attitude towards the devil should be, we must turn, first, to our worship, to the sacraments, and, secondly, to the teachings of the Holy Fathers. The sacrament of Baptism begins with incantations directed to the devil: the meaning of these incantations is to expel the devil who is nesting in the heart of man. Then the newly baptized, together with the priest and the recipients, turns to the west. The priest asks: “Do you renounce Satan, and all his deeds, and all his army, and all his pride?” He answers three times: “I renounce”. The priest says: "Blow and spit on him." This is a symbol that contains a very deep meaning... "Blow and spit on him" means "treat the devil with contempt, do not pay attention to him, he does not deserve anything more."

In patristic, in particular, monastic, literature, the attitude towards the devil and demons is characterized by calm fearlessness - sometimes even with a touch of humor. You can remember the story of St. John of Novgorod, who saddled a demon and forced him to take him to Jerusalem. I also remember a story from the life of Anthony the Great. Travelers came to him, who had been walking for a long time through the desert, and on the way their donkey died of thirst. They come to Anthony, and he says to them: "Why didn't you save the donkey?" They ask with surprise: "Abba, how do you know?", To which he calmly replies: "The demons told me." All these stories reflect a truly Christian attitude towards the devil: on the one hand, we admit that the devil is a real being, a bearer of evil, but on the other hand, we understand that the devil acts only within the framework established by God and will never be able to to overstep this framework; moreover, a person can take control and control of the devil.

In the prayers of the Church, in liturgical texts and in the works of the Holy Fathers, it is emphasized that the power of the devil is illusory. In the arsenal of the devil there are, of course, various means and ways with which he can influence a person, he has vast experience of all kinds of actions aimed at harm to a person, but he can apply it only if the person allows him to do so. ... It is important to remember that the devil cannot do anything to us if we ourselves do not open the entrance for him - a door, a window or at least a crack through which he will penetrate.

Let me give you an example of a case that happened ten years ago. I was approached by an elderly woman, a teacher of literature. In some newspaper she read that with the help of a needle, a sheet of paper and special spells, you can call the spirits of the dead and talk with them. She decided to evoke the spirit of Chekhov. And, imagine, “Chekhov” appeared to her. At first everything was very interesting, she even invited guests and arranged them in her apartment “ literary evenings”. But then “Chekhov” began to appear without an invitation, ruining furniture, breaking dishes; returning home, the woman found that everything was turned upside down, the wallpaper was torn, etc. The whole family was in a panic. The husband and children were afraid to return to their apartment. Life turned to hell, they were on the verge of suicide. Fortunately, the woman realized in time that she herself could not get rid of him now. The whole family came to church. The first thing I told them was, "You must stop being afraid." Having arrived to them, I consecrated the apartment, then they confessed and received the Holy Communion. “Chekhov” was blown away by the wind.

This is one of the examples confirming that if a person opens the door to the devil through some actions like witchcraft, treatment with psychics, or through drug addiction, alcoholism and other forms of addiction, through grave sins, which he does consciously, a person is subject to the influence of dark forces. If he firmly stands guard over his mind and heart, his morality, if he goes to church, confesses and receives communion, wears the holy cross, then he is not afraid of any demonic fears.

The devil is perfectly aware of his own weakness and impotence. He understands that he has no real power to influence people. That is why he tries to persuade them to cooperate, to assist. Having found a weak spot in a person, he tries to influence him in one way or another, and often he succeeds. First of all, the devil wants us to fear him, thinking that he has real power. And if a person falls for this bait, he becomes vulnerable and susceptible to "demonic shooting", that is, those arrows that the devil and demons shoot into the soul of a person.

Let me give you another example. Once a woman came to me with her daughter, a girl of about eight years old. Some demonic creatures constantly appeared to the girl, frightened her, she saw them day and night. The girl confessed and received communion, nothing changed. It all started with the fact that in some monastery they bought a book about the devil. It was said in this book that if the devil attacks a person, he will never lag behind, and there are no means of getting rid of him, except for “scolding”, but it does not always help. They, of course, were shocked by everything they were experiencing. I talked to the girl, asked her: “Are you afraid of them”? - "I'm afraid". - “And you can next time, as soon as they appear to you, tell them:“ I am not afraid of you, I do not pay attention to you, I have my own life, you have your own, get out. ” And live as if they do not exist at all. " About a week later, the mother and daughter came back and said, "They disappeared." Hence, the only remedy that Satan possessed in this case was fear. He wanted, by intimidating the child, to make him his victim.

We have to regret that books and brochures, in which the role of the devil is exaggerated in every possible way, are published and sold in church shops. This comes from ignorance, from spiritual insensitivity, from ignorance of the teachings of the Holy Fathers. The Orthodox teaching about the devil is expressed by the Monk John of Damascus in thirty lines. And our home-grown theologians write book after book about the devil and demons, intimidate the people of God, spoil people's lives.
The entrance of the devil into the soul of a person is opened, as I have already said, by magic, sorcery, treatment by psychics and sorcerers. I am not saying that all psychics and so-called "folk healers" act exclusively under the influence of demonic forces. But in the overwhelming majority these are people in whose hands are concentrated forces and energies, the nature of which they themselves do not know. Often, by healing one, they damage another. There were cases when a person got rid of headaches with their help, but at the same time became mentally ill. And the worst thing is that these "healers" make a person dependent on himself, and any form of dependence is the very door through which the devil can penetrate. Narcotic, alcoholic, sexual, mental and other forms of addiction pose a tremendous spiritual danger. Christians should take great care not to be dependent on anything in this life, in order to be spiritually and physically as free as possible. A person who controls his mind, his heart, his actions can always resist Satan. The one who turns out to be a slave to some passion or vice becomes unable to repel the onslaught of the devil.

You may ask: to what extent is the devil capable of influencing our thought at all? How much does he even know what is going on in our thoughts and in our hearts? How competent is he in matters of spiritual life? I have developed the conviction - partly under the influence of what I read from the Holy Fathers, partly on the basis of personal observations - that the devil has no direct knowledge of our internal processes... At the same time, being very experienced - he has dealt with billions of people throughout history and “worked” with each one individually - he uses these skills and recognizes what is going on inside a person by external signs. And looking for the most vulnerable spots. For example, when a person is in despondency, it is very easy for the devil to influence him. But the only thing the devil is capable of is to plant a sinful idea on a person, for example, the thought of suicide. And he does this not because the inner world of a person, his heart is open to him, but only focusing on external signs. Having instilled in a person some thoughts, the devil is not able to control what will happen to them next. And if a person knows how to discern which thought came from God, which from his own human nature, and which from the devil, and reject sinful thoughts at their very appearance, the devil will not be able to do anything. The devil grows stronger as a sinful or passionate thought penetrates the human mind.

The Holy Fathers teach about the gradual and gradual penetration of sinful thoughts into the soul of man. You can get acquainted with this teaching by reading "Philosophy" or "Ladder" of St. John of Sinai. The essence of this teaching is that at first a sinful or passionate thought appears only somewhere on the horizon of the human mind. And if a person, as the Church Fathers say, “stands guard over his mind,” he can reject this thought, “blow and spit” on it, and he will disappear. If a person becomes interested in a thought, begins to consider it, to talk with it, he conquers more and more territories in a person's mind - until he embraces his whole nature - soul, heart, body - and does not move him to commit a sin ...

Various kinds of superstition open the way for the devil and demons to the soul and heart of man. I would like to emphasize: faith is the exact opposite of superstition. The Church has always waged a tough struggle with superstition, precisely because superstition is a surrogate, a substitute for true faith. A true believer realizes that there is God, but there is also dark forces; he rationally and consciously builds his life, is not afraid of anything, placing all hope in God. A superstitious person - out of weakness, or stupidity, or under the influence of any people or circumstances - replaces faith with a set of beliefs, accepts, fears, which make up some kind of mosaic, which he takes for religious faith. We Christians must abhor superstition in every possible way. It is necessary to treat any superstition with the contempt with which we treat the devil: "Duni and spit on him."

The entrance of the devil into the soul of man is also opened through sins. Of course, we all sin. But sin is different. There are human weaknesses that we struggle with - what we call petty sins and try to overcome. But there are sins that, even committed once, open the door through which the devil enters the mind of a person. Any deliberate violation of the moral norms of Christianity can lead to this. If a person systematically violates, for example, the norms of married life, he loses spiritual vigilance, loses sobriety, chastity, that is, integral wisdom that protects him from the attacks of the devil.

Moreover, any duality is dangerous. When a person, like Judas, begins to cling to other values, in addition to the basic value that constitutes the religious core of life, and his conscience, his mind and heart are bifurcated, a person becomes very vulnerable to the devil's actions.

I have already mentioned the so-called "lecturing". I would like to dwell in somewhat more detail on this phenomenon, which has deep historical roots. In the Ancient Church, as you know, there were exorcists - people who were entrusted by the Church to cast out demons from the possessed. The church never perceived demonic possession as mental illness... We know from the Gospel many cases when a demon, several demons, or even a whole legion settled in a person, and the Lord expelled them by His power. Then the work of driving out demons was continued by the apostles, and later - by the very exorcists to whom the Church entrusted this mission. In the following centuries, the ministry of exorcists as a special ministry within the Church practically disappeared, but still there were (and still are) people who are engaged in driving out demons from the possessed either on behalf of the Church or on their own initiative.

You need to know that, on the one hand, demoniacs are a reality that the Church faces in Everyday life... Indeed, there are people in whom a demon lives, who penetrated into them, as a rule, through their fault - because in one way or another they opened access for him inside themselves. And there are people who, with prayer and special spells, similar to those that the priest reads before performing the sacrament of Baptism, cast out demons. But there are many abuses on the basis of "reprimand". For example, I saw two young hieromonks who, on their own initiative, were engaged in driving out demons from the possessed. Sometimes they rendered this service to each other - one lectured the other for two hours. There was no apparent benefit from this.

There are known cases when priests arbitrarily take on the role of exorcists, begin to attract demoniacs and create whole communities around them. I have no doubt that there are priests who possess divine healing power and are truly capable of casting out demons from people. But such clergy must have the official sanction of the Church for this. If a person takes on such a mission on his own initiative, it is fraught with great dangers.
Once, in a private conversation, a well-known exorcist, an Orthodox priest, around whom crowds of people gather, confessed: "I don't know how this happens." He said to one of the visitors: "If you are not sure that you are really possessed, it is better not to come there, otherwise the demon can leave another person and enter you." As you can see, even this well-known and respected exorcist did not fully own the processes that occur on the basis of "reprimand", and did not fully understand the "mechanics" of driving demons out of one person and their entry into another.

Often, people with various problems - mental or simply life - come to the priest and ask if they can go to such and such an elder to give a report. A woman once turned to me: "My fifteen-year-old son does not listen to me, I want to take him to a lecture." The fact that your son is disobedient, I replied, does not mean that he has a devil in him. To some extent, disobedience is even natural for adolescents - through this they grow up, assert themselves. A report is not a panacea for life's difficulties.

It also happens that a person has signs of mental illness, and relatives see this as the influence of demons. Of course, a mentally ill person is more vulnerable to the action of demons than a spiritually and mentally healthy person, but this does not mean that he needs an account. A psychiatrist is needed to treat the mentally ill, not a priest. But it is very important that the priest knows how to distinguish between phenomena of a spiritual and mental order, so that he does not mistake a mental illness for demonic possession. If he tries to heal mental defects by scolding, the result may be the opposite, exactly the opposite of what was expected. A person with an unbalanced psyche, getting into a situation where people scream, squeal, etc., can cause irreparable harm to their spiritual, mental and mental health.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the devil's action, authority and power are temporary. For a while, the devil conquered a certain spiritual territory for himself from God, a certain space in which he acts as if he were the master there. At the very least, he tries to create the illusion that there is an area in the spirit world where he dominates. Believers consider hell to be such a place, where people find themselves mired in sins, who have not brought repentance, who have not taken the path of spiritual perfection, who have not found God. On Great Saturday we will hear wonderful and very deep words that “hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race,” and that Christ, by His redemptive feat, His death on the cross and His descent into hell, has already won the victory over the devil - the very victory that will become final after His Second Coming. And hell, death, and evil continue to exist, as they existed before Christ, but they have already signed a death warrant, the devil knows that his days are numbered (I'm not talking about his days as a living being, but about the power that he temporarily disposes).

"Hell reigns, but does not last forever over the human race." This means that humanity will not always be in the position in which it is now. And even those who find themselves in the kingdom of the devil, in hell, are not deprived of the love of God, because God is also present in hell. The Monk Isaac the Syrian called the opinion that sinners in hell are deprived of the love of God blasphemous. The love of God is present everywhere, but it acts in two ways: for those who are in the Kingdom of Heaven, it acts as a source of bliss, joy, inspiration, for those who are in the kingdom of Satan, it is a scourge, a source of torment.

We must also remember what the Revelation of St. John the Theologian says: the final victory of Christ over the Antichrist, good over evil, God over the devil, will be won. In the Liturgy of Basil the Great, we hear that Christ descended into hell by the Cross in order to destroy the kingdom of the devil and bring all people to God, that is, by His presence and thanks to His death on the cross He permeated with Himself everything that we subjectively perceive as the kingdom of the devil. And in the stichera dedicated to the Cross of Christ, we hear: "Lord, the weapon against the devil Thy cross gave to us"; it also says that the Cross is “the glory of the angels and the demons' plague”, it is a weapon before which the demons tremble, the devil “trembles and trembles”.

This means that we are not defenseless before the devil. On the contrary, God does everything to protect us as much as possible from the influence of Satan, He gives us His Cross, the Church, the sacraments, the Gospel, Christian moral teaching, the possibility of constant spiritual improvement. He gives us periods like Great post when we can Special attention devote to spiritual life. And in this spiritual struggle of ours, in the struggle for ourselves, for our spiritual survival, God Himself is with us, and He will be with us all the days until the end of the age.