I’ve been messing around with therapy for adhesive capsulitis in both shoulders since August. Everything, including a cortisone injection, has had minimal effect, so it looks like the next thing to consider would be closed manipulation, wherein, under general anesthesia, my arm would be wrenched around to break up the scar tissue. (The procedure carries the risk of the having my arm broken in the process! :eek:)
Given that everything I’ve read, and my orthopedist has said, that adhesive capsulitis usually resolves on its own (although it may take a year or more) with no permanent loss of range of motion, I’m ambivalent about the closed manipulation, mostly from a money standpoint.
My range of motion is limited enough to be annoying on a daily basis as far as things like putting on/taking off a jacket or bra goes, but these activities are not impossible. I’m just trying to do a little risk vs. benefit analysis and am curious to hear from other Dopers who might dealt with this condition themselves.
My mother has had both shoulders frozen (and so did her brother). In both cases, she ended up having the shoulder manipulated. I think the first time around she had it done about a year after the shoulder first stiffened up, and at that time she couldn’t lift her hand as high as her face. There was no sign of the capsules disappearing on their own. The second time around she got it over with sooner.
According to her, it’s all about the anesthesia you get. The first time she was put under and it was no big deal. The second time she wasn’t, and it was a bad experience.
She did exercises regularly after the manipulations and hasn’t had a repeat in either one (though her brother did). She acts like the shoulders are weak though–won’t lift heavy loads or lift anything above her head.
Yes, I had it. I had a cortisone injection into my arm, which did nothing, but then I had a second one directly into the joint under X-ray, which hurt like a motherfucker but did the trick. My other shoulder was getting to that point too, but once the first one loosened up I was able to do the exercises that kept it from freezing up entirely. They both still hurt to a degree but I am able to lift my arms over my head and all that.
I have a habit of sleeping with my arms under my pillow, which I don’t seem to be able to break, and if I could stop doing that, it probably would be better.
Was your injection into your arm, like a flu shot? That one was totally ineffective for me. The one that went right into the joint was the payoff.
According to the printed visit summary, it was into the subacromial space through the posterior lateral approach. Definitely not into the meaty part of the arm like a flu shot. I would describe it as being into the top of the shoulder blade. It’s been a week, and I would say I’ve experienced a slight reduction in pain, but no appreciable gains in range of motion.
Sattua, from what I’ve heard,I can’t imagine having that done without general anesthesia!
My wife’s left shoulder was frozen from gradual non-use from an old injury. The shot (in the joint) was enough to free things up enough for physical therapy instead of the, “maybe break your arm” part. The [del]torturers[/del] therapists got things freed up for full range of motion, though not full return of strength yet (6 months). My continued [del]harrassment[/del] encouragement has maintained things along with hoisting the new granddaughter alot.
My mom (67) had a frozen shoulder about a year ago and she had hydrodilitation - they inject saline into the area and my understanding is that it gives the joint more room to move around. This was followed up by PT. She’s recovered with full range of motion and no pain.
I had a frozen shoulder a couple of years ago - I got into physiotherapy really quickly, and it has pretty much healed right up. I don’t know if it helped or not, but my arm fell off the bed when it was frozen, and while it hurt so bad I actually screamed, I think that might have helped release it.
ETA: Oh yeah, I had some serious anti-inflammatories, too.
Yes, both of mine were recently frozen. The left one froze in about July of 2010 or so, and the right one in November of 2010. I went to physical therapy for both of them, and it was a painful ordeal. I went to two different PT places, and one of the therapists was far more torturous than the other one. I also overdid it with the ibuprofen at that time, and ended up in the ER at 2 a.m. with what was almost a bleeding ulcer. So, take it easy on them.
It has been a little over a year and a half since the first one froze, and it’s just about back to normal. The second one was never quite as bad, and it’s just about normal now too. Both are still a bit painful at the extreme range of motion.
I’ve read on some websites that the treatment in the UK is to just leave them alone and they’ll clear up in about a year and a half on their own. I wasn’t willing to risk a permanent freeze, though, so I went to PT.
For side-sleepers, how did you cope with the pain of trying to sleep on your side while your shoulder(s) hurt?
All you folks who went through PT…I just don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere. The only thing that seems to be getting better is my ability to tolerate pain during the passive stretching.
I had frozen shoulder after non use during nearly 20 weeks in an arm cast. It was noticed by physical therapists who had me doing as much rolling stretching (arm straight out from the waist and to the side), and back strengthening exercises (pinching shoulders together toward spine and hold for several minutes), and attempts to raise arm with pulley device. I remember being unable to reach into my back pocket, and the pain was terrible.
Good news is, it resolved itself and it does get better with time. I did very little in the way of pain medication and no cortizone shots.
I had frozen shoulder last year, and it was cured with three months of physical therapy only, no cortisone or any other medical procedure. I don’t know how severe mine was compared to other people, but it continued to improve after the therapy and now it’s back to 99% or better to what it was before.
When my MD offered me cortisone, he made it sound like it would be for the pain only, not for the actual mechanical problem. I declined.
Roddy
Have you tried trigger point therapy? Obviously it won’t do anything with the scar tissue, but if trigger points are compounding the problem, you may get enough relief from just that, that you can let the adhesions resolve on their own.
If nothing else, perhaps trying finding this in the library, and see if any of the self-therapy techniques for shoulder issues helps at all. If not, you’re out nothing and can go ahead with the manipulation.
I certainly felt like I was getting nowhere during PT. It was a lengthy and painful process, but eventually it worked. Tendons and other gristly bits take a long time to heal. I wouldn’t expect any appreciable changes until several months have gone by.
I have massage therapy every couple of weeks for edema caused by congestive heart failure. While I’m there, I tell the masseuse to work on my left shoulder for five or ten minutes, and this loosens it up considerably.
I asked my P.T. if massage would help. She told me that it was in the gristle, and areas not reachable by massage.
Also, that the stretching produced micro tears that would eventually heal the frozen shoulder, and it would go back to a normal range of motion. At the time, I could barely believe that I was not crippled for life. And thankfully she was right as it turned out–but after many months.
I heated the area with microwaved wet/hot towels, before I stretched, and put an ice pack over the area after stretching, as advised by the P.T.
Good luck to you.
I second Kaio’s trigger point therapy suggestion. It’s really done wonders for me.
The same author even has a version just for frozen shoulders, which helped get me past my post-broken arm frozen shoulder.
My dad had frozen shoulder a couple of years ago and I remember reading about this procedure and wishing he could get it (he was absolutely miserable and the shots and thereapy did nothing.) But at the time the articles made it sound like it was still in the trial phase, I’m glad that there are places doing this procedure out there now!
My husband is a PT and knew of an orthopedic surgeon who used this method and got good results, so he told my mom about it. If I remember correctly, the orthopedist prescribed it, but the injection was actually administered at a radiologist’s office.
Both my husband and I have had frozen shoulder - he was treated in Egypt, I was treated in Indonesia. Both of us received electrotherapy and both of us got better after a few months. I went to treatment faithfully once a week, whereas he went somewhat erratically. I think I got better faster than he did, and it seems likely that was a factor.
My husband says that his electrotherapy didn’t hurt. Mine hurt a lot the first few times, but the frozen shoulder was so awful that I had sort of a “bring it on! anything to get better!” attitude about it. Towards the end, the electrotherapy no longer hurt much and I mentioned this to the therapist - he said he had switched the brand of equipment he was using.
Both of us had to do exercises such as climbing our hands up the wall as high as we could go, stretching to reach the maximum height we could manage. (There were some other exercises but I forget them now.) We were warned that failure to do the exercises would delay our recovery.
I sleep sort of like SigmaGirl, but only my right arm goes under the pillow. That was the affected arm, and the therapist thought there was a connection. Whenever I notice myself doing it now I try to move it down, but it’s a hard habit to break! That arm “wants” to be behind the pillow, damn it.
A friend of mine swam constantly to treat her frozen shoulder. She got better eventually, but I think it took well over a year and the swimming itself was very painful. From the first realization that something was wrong with my shoulder to having it go back to normal only took about 7 months, maybe less. The electrotherapy seemed to really make a difference.
CairoCarol, I had electrotherapy in the first round of PT I had.
OK, here’s the whole history. First went to my sports med doc in late July for this. She prescribed PT. Did two months of PT, and at my follow-up w/ the sports med doc, I had actually lost range of motion. We decided to continue PT but with a difference therapist and a different approach (focus on the passive stretching rather than strengthening.) I did that for a month, wasn’t seeing any real improvement…and then I fell. I only jarred my shoulders – I didn’t try to break my fall with straight arms or anything, but it definitely ratcheted the pain up.
Went back to sports med doc who ordered MRIs on both shoulders just to make sure I hadn’t torn anything in the fall and referred me to an orthopedist. That was done in early Dec. and the MRI confirmed the adhesive capsulitis diagnosis and showed no other damage. Saw the orthopod and discussed treatment options. Continued with another month of PT, during which I had the cortisone shot (10 days ago ). That brings me up to now.
Maybe I’m not being patient enough, but I’d think in the course of all this I’d be able to detect SOME improvement! I’m getting very frustrated by the $$$$ racking up with all those PT co-pays.
Re: trigger point therapy…I’m assuming this is something someone else would have to perform on me? I’m guessing that, with the frozen shoulders, I can’t reach the places that need to be worked on.
I have a follow-up with the orthopod at the end of Feb. I’m going to ask him about hydrodilation.
