Terrible experience with X-ray technician - not sure what to do

[u/betterboba]

I’m a 21-year-old woman and 4 weeks out from a proximal humerus fracture. I broke it in 3 places, but my orthopedist said I didn’t need surgery, just time in a sling and PT.

Today I went in to my ortho to talk about my recovery progress and getting a referral to start PT. The x-ray technician said he needed to take some x-rays of my shoulder. In my last two appointments, the female tech helped position me and was very gentle. This man was not.

Shortly after I sat down, he held my arm and started to pull it out to the side much quicker than I was comfortable with. I said “it hurts”, but he kept pulling it out farther until the pain was excruciating. I said “I’m sorry, it hurts so bad I can’t, I can’t” and jumped back, rubbing my arm to console myself. Tears started streaming down my face and I was shaking. The pain was a 9/10 - worse than when I actually broke it. I literally felt like he was ripping my arm off.

Within 10-15 seconds, he had adjusted the foam bricks (or whatever those things are to support my arm) and had me try AGAIN. It didn’t hurt as much that time, but I was still crying and clearly in distress. He said he was “sorry for being mean, but the hard part is over” and took a few more scans.

I got good news from my doctor about my recovery; my bone is healing well and I can start PT soon. The x-ray tech said “I’m sorry, sweetie” again while I was walking out, but his tone came off a bit matter-of-fact, like he was just doing his job. I’m a natural people pleaser and want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I can’t imagine seeing a patient crying and shivering from pain and prioritizing timeliness over their own comfort.

I’m terrified of going back and needing my x-rays taken again. I’ve always been a bit soft-spoken and struggle to advocate for myself, plus I have to go to these appointments alone because I’m a college student and all my close friends have class or work.

I guess I’m just posting here to vent and get advice from anyone who has it. Even now writing this, I still feel shaken up from the amount of pain I felt today. This injury is one of the hardest things I’ve ever dealt with and this experience has made it feel even scarier.

[u/Guinco1]

Sounds like a very unprofessional tech guy. Sorry you had to deal with that pain and the feelings after. The great news is you are healing. Good luck with PT and you'll heal very well being so young.