After a few weeks of progress, I really cut back on doing any of the physical therapy exercises that had been given to me to try at home. I wanted to see if the shoulder would continue improving on its own. I also began lifting weights more regularly, and I've been doing more hiking too. I was surprised at how much the shoulder moves while hiking. When I first started, going for a hike resulted in some pain, especially after the hike. Now it hardly bothers me at all. I'm able to do most of my weightlifting exercises again, but in most cases with reduced weights. I still can't get do shoulder presses or squats with a bar behind my neck.
External rotation continues to improve, about an inch per week. Flexion stopped improving, and actually got slightly worse over the last week. This is a hint that I should work on the stretching exercises more than I've been doing.
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I have been dealing with this for over a year, didn't know what it was called until tonight! No way I can afford to go to a doctor, I might try a local chiropractor though. I see that you haven't written anything in a while, how are you doing now?
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Wretha
I'm fine now! It took about two years for the symptoms to go away.
DeleteWhile I was suffering from the condition, I did a lot of reading about it. It appears that not enough research has been done. It's not really known what causes the problem, or whether there's a reliable treatment. My insurance paid for physical therapy, but it's not clear that this speeds up recovery or is useful for anything related to frozen shoulder. Studies haven't definitely shown it helps.
In my case, the physical therapy was so painful, I suspect that it wasn't worth the trouble. I'd probably have been better off doing gentle stretching exercises and waiting for it to heal on its own. Studies show that in most cases, the problem goes away on its own after two years, no matter how it's treated. Although in general, there's a loss of flexibility, and in some cases surgery may be necessary to regain that. I did lose a little flexibility, but it's only noticeable if I try to compare between my left and right arm. I currently do a lot of rock climbing and it hasn't been an issue for me.
Good luck in recovering!
Thank you for sharing your experiences with frozen shoulder... going through it now and probably doing all the same research you did. I have decided to forego the PT office visits and do my own stretching. I find that hot showers in the morning loosen things up and ease the middle of the night pains. Stretching and moving over the course of the first 2 weeks has helped return some movement. reaching behind my back is the worst part. A friend had frozen shoulder a few years ago and after finding out I had it, offered a rope pulley device that attaches to a door. I have been using this to pull my arm slightly past the point it will go on its own. It hurts. It really hurts at times, but i feel that it is helping return some range of motion. I know it is going to be a long journey through it all, and I can't wait to get back to normal. Glad to hear you recovered well. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply, I have also decided not to go to a doctor or even a chiropractor, I do gentle stretches and exercises, it hurts while doing it but it does make it feel better afterward. One thing I have found that works on the pain is capsaicin rub, I had to look high and low to find one that didn't also contain menthol or other "cold" stuff, I only wanted the heat, I found one online that wasn't expensive, email me if you want the name of it if you can't find some yourself. The way capsaicin works is it penetrates the skin and depletes something called "substance P", this is what sends the pain signals, so if there isn't much or any substance P, then no pain signal can be sent. I use this 2-4 times a day, at the very least in the morning and at night before I go to bed, this is not a cure but it helps with the pain, I especially notice the difference if I forget to use it at night. I also sleep with a hot water bottle on my shoulder many nights, not every night, but just when it's really bothering me.
ReplyDeleteAnother good thing for this is DMSO, I would be using it now except that DMSO freezes solid at a relatively high temp, somewhere in the upper 50s I believe, anyhow, mine is frozen solid so I'll wait until spring to use it, I will be making my own capsaicin rub using DMSO and either cayenne or habenero.
Wretha
wretha(at)gmail(dot)com
I just want to emphasize to all that it is good common sense to go to a doctor initially with any shoulder problems, to get a diagnosis. There are lots of other shoulder problems which require different treatments, many of them are much more serious than frozen shoulder. And even cases of frozen shoulder may require surgery apparently. It's good to have a doctor checking on your progress.
ReplyDeleteThis whole blog relates my own particular experience with frozen shoulder, after I had been diagnosed with it by a competent doctor. I was given an MRI to be sure that there was no other serious complicating factors.
I'm glad to share my story, and also glad to hear that other people are doing research on their own. But I also hope everyone sees a doctor before deciding how to proceed. It's not possible for a layperson to decide what condition they have, and you don't want to be maimed for life because you decided to diagnose yourself based on info from the internet. I'm not saying any of the commenters have done that; I just want to emphasize this for any lurking readers.
Wretha, to address your comments specifically: my own problem is over and I no longer experience any pain. I never took anything for pain during the time I had frozen shoulder; it was never severe enough to warrant that. Personally, I would not use DMSO on myself - it hasn't been studied enough, and is too risky IMHO.
Was really happy to find your blog. After months and months of pain, I finally gave in and went to an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed frozen shoulder in both. His exam was very, very thorough and I felt very confident with his diagnosis. I thought back to when the pain started and realized that my attempt to get in better shape by merely lifting small weights ( 3 pounds) caused the problem. I also fit the middle-aged woman category that seems to be most common. He prescribed physical therapy, twice a week, to include massage and electrical stimulation and the like. I started yesterday but all we did in the hour I was there was test my limitations with some sort of measuring device, three different simple but painful stretching exercises that I am to do at home, and then ice. I had a bad night and am in a lot of residual pain from the exercises today but both the orthopedist and the therapist said that pain is a very real part of this therapy, "no pain, no gain" is very true for frozen shoulder therapy. I just hope I can handle it. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
ReplyDeleteWow burnoutteacher, both shoulders at the same time! My shoulder is about 90% healed, it does eventually heal on its own, I have almost all of my range of motion back and most of my strength back, I never did go to a doctor, just worked on it myself, I thing the most important thing I did was to continue using my arm as much as I could, that helped keep my strength instead of losing it.
ReplyDeleteI also used what I call my hot pack, especially at night when the pain was bad and kept me from sleeping, I would apply a capsaicin rub on that shoulder, then follow that with DMSO, it would heat up that shoulder and take a great deal of the pain away, I would sleep with a hot water bottle, anything to keep it really warm, that seemed to help the most.
I would also stretch it as much as I could, the best way for me was I had a bar in my shower that ran across the shower, I would grab that bar above my head, relax that shoulder as much as I could and using my body, pull down while hanging on to that bar, right after a shower or during a shower helped relax it, it hurt like you wouldn't believe while doing it, but it helped my range of motion.
Good luck with you and know this will go away, it just has to run its course and unfortunately that just takes time.
Wretha
email me if you wish
wretha(at)gmail(dot)com
I was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder 1 September 2015. It came on relatively quickly within 2 weeks and became increasingly painful to the point when I was in sheer agony, especially at night when it reduced me to tears. The doctor put me on painkillers what did very little except take the edge off the pain, and put me on a referral list for a physiotherapy. I was beside myself and desperate. Searching the internet I read about a man whose brother's frozen shoulder was cured by DMSO, I started researching DMSO extensively, weighing up the pros and cons. The pros outweighed the cons as far as I was concerned, and I ordered a bottle of pharmaceutical Grade DMSO for £19 (I live in England) when it arrived, I thoroughly cleaneded my shoulder befor applying the liquid at a strength of 99.99% with a cotton wool pad. The next day I was off the pain killers. I still had some pain, but not enough to warrent strong medication. I used it 3 times a day for two more days, along with hanging arm exercises holding a 1kg dumbell. By the end of the second day the pain had gone and the stiffness was reduced probably 80% . In 3 days, I went from not being able to move it at all, not being able to dress myself or drive my car, to almost normal movement and no pain. I will continue to stretch and do hanging arm rotations and use DMSO until its completely normal, which at this rate will be by the end of the week!
ReplyDeleteGlad that worked for you, DMSO is an amazing healing substance, reducing inflammation and such. Did it bother your skin at all using it full strength? I notice when I use it, it depends on where I apply it, on my shoulder it didn't bother my skin too much, I recently developed tennis elbow (in the same arm as the former frozen shoulder), I applied the same DMSO on my elbow area, all around the arm in that area, this time it looked like I had a mild sunburn, it burned, prickled and itched a lot more than it did on my shoulder. I suppose it has to do with where you apply it, some areas are more sensitive than others. I also know that your skin can get used to it and not react as much later on.
DeleteWretha