Woman Notices Her Shoulder Slowly Rising. Now, It Won’t Go Down (Exclusive)

At the beginning of August 2025, professional dancer Caroline Miele began to notice a subtle but persistent change in her posture — her right shoulder was gradually lifting higher than her left. 

“I didn’t think much of it since it was only noticeable to me,” Miele tells PEOPLE. “After a week or two, my fiancé and friends started to notice as it got more drastic.”

Being accustomed to the physical demands of dance and the injuries that often come with it, the 28-year-old initially brushed it off, chalking it up to muscle fatigue or overuse — especially given she wasn’t in any pain or discomfort.

“I was able to continue working and dancing,” she explains. “The only pain I felt was an occasional what felt like a muscle spasm that would happen, but it was quick and would go away.”

Still, the asymmetry continued to worsen week by week. Curiosity turned into concern as she looked to the internet for answers, only to find a flood of unsettling information.

“Once my shoulder started to get really bad, I did what any 20-something-year-old who can’t afford a doctor’s visit would do — go down a WebMD rabbit hole,” Miele admits.

After nearly a month of silent worry and growing uncertainty, she finally booked an appointment with an orthopedic specialist in Florida as the first step in uncovering what was really going on beneath the surface.

“He did a few different X-rays of my shoulder, along with my spine, because he thought that it might be scoliosis,” she explains. However, “it wasn’t.”

“He ultimately didn’t know what was wrong with me, so he gave me a prescription for steroids and a muscle relaxer and sent me on my way.”

After taking the prescribed steroids, her shoulder improved briefly, but the relief was short-lived, and within days, it had returned to its elevated position.

Miele spent the following week searching for alternative solutions, unsure of what steps to take next. It was then that she decided to turn to social media, posting a TikTok video to share her experience and ask for help.

“I was overwhelmed with the response I received, and it honestly made me emotional how many strangers wanted to help a 20-something-year-old girl on the internet,” she shares.

Comments and direct messages quickly poured in from a wide range of medical professionals, each offering suggestions — from CT scans to MRIs to seeing a physical therapist.

While many of the messages were thoughtful and genuinely helpful, some ended up adding to the stress of an already uncertain situation.

“A few people suggested it could be something more serious. Some said things like a neurological disorder, dystonia, even a pre-menopause symptom,” Miele recalls. “That’s when I knew I had to get answers.”

Unable to afford the cost of advanced imaging for her shoulder, she opted to take a different route and scheduled a follow-up appointment — this time with a physical therapist.

“After an initial examination, they decided to do something called dry needling, which many people suggested. We also did cupping and a deep tissue massage,” Miele says.

“While we still don’t have answers of exactly what’s going on, I’m confident that we are headed in the right direction to try to figure out the root cause of all of this.”

After just one appointment, Miele was amazed by the progress and plans to continue treatment twice a week for the next five weeks. She also hopes to get an MRI or a CT scan soon to rule out any underlying causes.

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“I’m getting married in May and I don’t wanna look like Quasimodo walking down the aisle,” she says.

Miele has also managed to keep a sense of humor throughout the ordeal. In her fifth update on TikTok, she laughed while reading some of the lighthearted comments on her original video — one of which joked, “At least your purse won’t fall off that shoulder.”

Looking back, Miele says posting the video was one of the “best decisions” she’s ever made.

“I can’t believe the sheer amount of kind people who wanted to reach out and help me,” she tells PEOPLE.  It makes me so emotional to think that that many people cared about little old me!”

The outpouring of support from doctors across various medical fields truly took her by surprise. “I encourage anyone who is trying to get answers to post a video on TikTok; you never know who might see it,” Miele emphasizes.