not personally yet i know someone who has had it. shoulders r/t diabetes 2. one shoulder they did the pt for a short time some of the at home exercises and stopped. it went away on its own. this person has it at different times. still has it in 1 shoulder for about a yr now with nothing done to it. some drs will use the o.r. to break it up and pt right after. depends on where in the development process its at so to speak. if u try to treat it too early it may not be successful and you can make it worse. good luck.

Thanks guys so much for the encouragement. I appreciate your sharing your story and well wishes.

I was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder many years ago. (Not easy to deal with when you live alone!). The ortho gave me exercises to do and said it would go away spontaneously after some undefined period of time. I was very diligent with the exercises and then, as he said, one day it was "frozen" no more. It's a awful thing to go through.

I know a LOT about this subject! I've had it twice....once in each shoulder. And neither one was from an injury. Doctors are still baffled I'm sure to this day, what caused mine. The first one happened many years ago (in my early 30s.....I'm 58 now). It was not an all of a sudden thing, but I noticed that my range of motion seemed to be getting less and less and then all of a sudden I couldn't even lift my arm high enough to put deodorant on. It was then I went to the doctor.....and yes....I know.....I was an idiot for not going sooner! The orthopedist did an MRI or cat scan (can't remember which now) and knew then it was "frozen shoulder". I had to go to physical therapy 3 times a week and it was almost a year before I got my full range of motion back, but it did return.

The second time it happened was the other shoulder.......again a mystery how I got it. I was immediately started on physical therapy, but after 4 months of PT, it was obvious that no range of motion was coming back. So I had to have surgery. The reason they put you to sleep is because it would be excrutiating pain to force the shoulder out of it's "frozen state". While under anesthesia, they manipulate your shoulder out of the "frozen" state and while still asleep, they give you a "block" so that even when you wake up, you can't feel a thing in your arm or shoulder......believe me....it was like dead weight! Anyway, while in recovery, the doctor came in and said every 30 minutes I would have to rotate my arm so that it would not immediately freeze up again. So I would have to hold the "dead weight" arm with the other arm and move it around. That was about 15 years ago, and to this day, I still don't have the range of motion in that arm I had before it froze.

Fortunately, it has never happened again since, in either arm.

I've had a separated shoulder and also partially torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders. I also suffer on occasion from shoulder bursitis. I don't know exactly the definition of "frozen shoulder", but from what I've read it is simply:pain/stiffness an lack of mobility of the joint.

For those that can take them, the Ortho doctors that are my friends, say start with some type of over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. If that does not help I would suggest seeing your doctor and maybe having him send you to a shoulder specialise, which one of my Ortho doctors happens to be, or maybe have him write you a prescription for Physical Therapy.

For me it was and still is regular daily movement or exercises of the shoulder joints and all of the connective tissue. This is both for stretching them and also for strengthening all 3 of the shoulder muscle groups. Many times heat can make it feel better and there were times I stood in the shower under fairly hot water and let it run on the offending shoulder at that time.

Shoulder problems are not particulary an uncommon problem, and they are more common with those that have maybe been involved(and still involved) in certain types of sports activities. Certain types of sports put a lot more strain on the shoulder joint than others, but almost all of them at times push them moreso that someone that is more sedentary. Rotator cuff problems, according to my Ortho friend that specializes in shoulders, are very common in a large majority of both male and females after they reach the age of 50.

Those that have done regular strengthening and stretching exercises for these joints over the years are less likely to suffer from this, according to my friend, and when they do it is usually not as serious an issue as with those that may have abused their shoulders and never took the time to help to keep them from certain types of potential problems later in life.

hckynut(john)




"IT'S A GREAT DAY FOR HOCKEY"

Frozen shoulder is an extremely painful condition. Your range of movement is very limited and causes much pain. A number of years ago it began in one shoulder and I had to go to a few doctors before it was properly diagnosed. Anti-inflammatories or pain medicine would not touch the pain from it, but in my case it had also progressed to both shoulders. It was my pain doctor, not the ortho who properly diagnosed it. I was sent for physical therapy. However, I have fibromyalgia and the therapy was causing fibro flares so the therapist suggested we stop because it was just causing other muscle groups to tense up. The pain doctor admitted me for the surgery and a day later the ortho doctor discharged me because he would not approve it. It took me a full year to recover from it. All of a sudden, it was gone, just as quickly as it came. I wish you luck and be sure to explore all your options. NiteStar gave a good description of what takes place during the surgery. My case was complicated due to the fibromyalgia and I was very fortunate to have has a physical therapist who was familiar with fibromyalgia and could tell that the exercises were actually making things worse and physically that is how I felt. I had constant pain in both shoulders, and could not do anything you normally do daily without crying from the pain of it - getting dressed, brushing teeth, showering, brushing hair, and on and on. I so hope you get better soon!

329 could I ask you what exactly did you end up doing to get better since PT was flaring up the fibro?

I am having issues also with one shoulder plus I have some upper back curving in the spine...been seeing a chrio and did some PT for the shoulder/neck but it only helped a little. I honestly feel like my neck/shoulders/upper back and low back are all strained.

I have tried stretching and can do some of them but have to be really careful or I will pull my neck muscle back into spasms...so painful. I can't believe just how tight my muscles are...stretching is so hard to do for me....my hips are to tight which they tell me effects you greatly also...so I try to do hip flexor and other hip stretches.

My upper back is so tight....I have so many knots from my jaw to well everywhere else...told I have TMJ by chrio...when I open my jaw it cracks/pops on the same side I have shoulder issues.

I don't know what kind of other doc to go see...ortho's specialize in small areas and I feel like it's all connected and I need a neck doc...then a spine one...then a shoulder one...?

It has effected what I can do physically to say the least.

Edit to add: also have beginnings of lower neck arthritis.

Last edited on 4/6/2012

"Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil -- it has no point."

I also had a very good experience with PT. It will hurt like blazes but if you do everything they tell you to practice and also let them stretch the shoulder as much as you can tolerate, and then a little more, I bet you'll have a good result. I'm hoping for you!

Hey Lilypad3 - 2004 was my year of the frozen shoulder. I remember it vividly. It started in January out of the blue. The onset was sneaky. My left shoulder started aching and the pain was just a twinge, so I thought I pulled something. I didn't run to the doctor immediately because I thought it would pass if I rested the arm. Talk about the worst thing that I could have done for it. Long story short - I suffered with it for 90 days until I got an appointment with an orthopedic/shoulder specialist. The doctor told me that 9 out of 10 frozen shoulder patients were women in their 40's. He did not know what caused it in my case and said I was one of the worse cases he's seen in a long time.

My shoulder joint was so tight, the doctor was nervous that he was going to break the cortisone shot needle. The shot hurt like the dickens but I sat very still because he promised that I would feel relief in a day or so. He gave me exercises for home. He said that he could have prescribed PT but didn't want me to suffer more than I had already - what a sweetie. It took months of at home activity, but I did regain use of the arm.

I really do recommend the cortisone shot. It helps alleviate the pain so that exercises can be performed without wanting to scream.

~ bird ~

burtonfan - sometimes it can take a really long time to regain full range of motion. I've rehabbed myself after knee surgery and am a good patient in performing exercises recommended by a doctor. I was diagnosed with frozen shoulder in March 2004 and didn't get full of range of motion back until December 2004. It seemed to happen out of the blue. I had quit smoking in February 2004 and I always get the urge to wash walls, etc in the fall/winter. I decided to wash all the walls in my house in December 2004. I'll never forget it - I was listening to an Usher CD (confessions) and singing my heart out, just washing and wiping down the walls, when I realized my left arm had full mobility. I nearly broke my neck running downstairs to show my husband that I was cured

~ bird ~

I have had it, and had never heard of "frozen sholder" before. My dr. sent me to PT right away, and it really helped. I still do the stretches they taught me. Right now I have been feeling my left sholder blade tighten up with a little pain, and I immediately do the various stretches and it goes away.

I think one reason I got it is from looking at a computer monitor so much. With my bifocals I tilt my head back, and I think that strain messes up my sholder. I know, I need to adjust the location of the monitor or get glasses just for computer use.

Anyway, good luck and do everything they tell you to do in PT.

On 4/7/2012 lilypad3 said:

Thanks so much guys for your input. I start aggressive PT next week-3X per week. I've been doing exercises at home 5 x a day since going to ortho yesterday. Who knew just getting dressed and daily grooming could be such a painful chore. Thanks so much for the encouragement guys!

I wish pools weren't so inaccessible, because moving your arm gently under warm water would be good, IMO, ask your Dr. first.