The patient with persistent shoulder pain and associated distal tingling may have a torn structure in the shoulder. The gold standard for diagnosis of soft tissue injury is an MRI, which requires laying still in a cylinder. This can be anxiety-inducing for some individuals. Intravenous lorazepam (Ativan) can be administered prior to the scan to help with the patient's anxiety. Coaching the patient on breathing exercises is helpful, but the patient's anxiety is severe enough to require pharmacological intervention. Deferring the patient for 2 weeks for therapy places the patient at risk for nerve damage. Jumping straight to an exploratory arthroscopy is inappropriate because anesthesia is not without risks.