I just found this thread after a couple of months of pain. I assume that I’m still in stage 1 but I go to an orthopedist next Tuesday. My GP looked at me for about a minute and said that it’s probably arthritis. I’m male and 47 so I don’t think I fit the normal profile. Both of my parents have had frozen shoulders. I don’t know if we’re unlucky or if there’s a genetic component to it.
I will say that when it hurts, it’s an amazing kind of hurt. The kind of hurt that makes me drop to my knees and pray for it to stop.
My right shoulder has been causing me a small amount of almost-constant pain. It’s become difficult to do up my bra hooks. I have nowhere near the range of motion that I have in my left shoulder. I’m 48 and don’t have a thyroid, but my thyroid levels are now okay.
Is there anything I can do to prevent it from freezing altogether?
StGermain, what I fervently wish I had done when my shoulder first started troubling me is keep it moving with gentle stretches, and see my doctor to have it checked out. You can Google for exercises, but what I’m doing now at the suggestion of my physical therapist is:
– what I call The Elephant: brace your good arm against a table or chair back and let the other arm dangle free. Swing it in circles, at first tight and then wider and wider. Let it swing back and forth.
– roll your shoulders, in both directions (not at one time; that would be silly).
– place both hands against a wall and crawl up the wall with your fingers, as far as you can manage it.
– stand straight and push your shoulder blades towards your spine and down. Without letting your shoulder move out of this position, lift your arm to the front and to the side, as far as you can.
My dog gets very excited when I do The Elephant, thinking that I’m about to grab him or his toy. It adds adventure to the exercise.
You might want to do an orthopedic consult. I’m just a tad older than you and my right shoulder is nearly-constantly painful. Not frozen - they think it’s a rotator cuff problem. Just had an MRI for that and I see the ortho again in about 2 weeks. Like you, bra straps are a big issue.
Apparently this is not uncommon as we hit “that” age, and it’s more common in the dominant side (are you right-handed?). Wear and tear vs. an acute injury.
I had to go off the ibuprofen for over a week before some unrelated surgery and hoo boy, Tylenol did NOT do the job and I was miserable (I’m back on my regular meds today, yay!..).
A friend of mine who did have a frozen shoulder found it took 4-5 months to fully improve. And of course initially she did all the wrong things, by favoring it and restricting her movements.
I concur - start at your doctor for x-rays and anti-inflammatories, then she’ll probably advise you to make an appointment with your local physiotherapist. The anti-inflammatories are fairly serious stuff (they have a warning on the ones I take that you CAN NOT get pregnant while on them), but they work like a damn.
Yeah - FairyChatMom said much the same upstream. I’m glad you’re seeing a doc soonish about it; s/he can best advise you on what motion etc. you should be doing, and get you started on appropriate physiotherapy.
You will find more on frozen shoulder than I could possibly cram into a post, but here is the skinny from me (mine is all good now), remember I am not your doc:
(Please remember I am a major skeptic for most things, including many medical ones.)
Range of motion testing and history by a competent orthopedist is pretty diagnostic. Mine took about 30 seconds. The presentation is pretty pathognomonic. No need to waste money on fancy tests.
It’s doubtful that either steroidal or non-steroidal meds do anything; surgery is no good, and the data on physical therapy is marginal at best beyond the range of motion stuff.
Like every good painful condition it hurts like crazy and no one who doesn’t have the condition gets it.
A few months of ridiculous pain and limited Range of Motion; a few more months of very limited Range of Motion with diminishing pain and a few more months of gradually improving ROM with very little pain (back to 80 or 90% of what you had before) is a pretty good rule of thumb.
I posted in the thread linked to above about how the Graston Technique relived my frozen shoulder/adhesive capsulitis in two treatments. I’m still pretty much pain-free with full range of movement.
Do you recommend physiotherapy, at least at first, to get motion back and learn the exercises to do to keep the shoulder limber? I’m not sure what you’re saying here - don’t go to anybody about a frozen shoulder, just stay home and wait?
Oh, shoot, Mama Zappa, of course, your gall bladder! Well, I apologize profusely for adding to your discomfort, and change the saying to ‘A wry half-smile is the best medicine.’ I will, however, still stick out my tongue at you:
I’m curious about this point, too. So far, over the last 3 weeks I’ve had 5 shots with cortisone and a lubricant and 6 physical therapy sessions. I’ve also been doing the exercises I was shown. My shoulder doesn’t bother me at all any more – I can bang against things, which is something of a hobby with me, without shooting pains, and I don’t have any problems sleeping on either side. I’m far from normal (I’ll pause here for the one-liners), but my range of motion has definitely increased and I’m feeling much less pathetic.
PT is like Weight Watchers meetings - if you don’t know how to diet (or in the PT case, exercise and stretch) you need a few meetings to be taught. From then on out, you go so that you are accountable to someone.
PT sometimes does things you can’t at home (like ultrasound), but most of my PT has been being taught how to strengthen and stretch and then putting in into practice with supervision.
Frozen shoulder does get better if you know what it is, and then learn and do your exercise. Lots of people need PT to learn the exercises. Most of them still need PT to keep them doing them and progress them. Not everybody can tell the difference between “it has to hurt like that to get better” and real new damage pain.
(that’s another thread though).