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Frozen Shoulder

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Posted 6/21/2013 3:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there,

This is my first visit to here so i am not sure how everything works!

The problem i am suffering with at the moment is Frozen shoulder in my right arm.I have had this since the middle of March this year.I am 33 years of age.I was sitting in my friends house and i lifted my arm and all of a sudden i got this pain going from my shoulder down to the middle of my arm.At first i thought i must have pulled something.That night the pain got worse and i could not sleep at all but the pain got a bit better over the next few days so i thought great whatever it is must be going away.

A few weeks later i was in bed and the pain got so bad i could not lift my arm above my elbow.I Thought i was going to faint with the pain.Lucky my mum was there to look after me.I went to the Doctor and she told me i had Frozen shoulder and gave me anti inflammatory to take.I asked why does this happen and she said they dont really know what causes this.The medication helps a bit but the pain is still very bad.I find it hard to do any small task with this and its getting me very down were i am finding i dont want to do anything much anymore.I also feel that people who dont suffer from this dont understand how bad it can be and i feel like i am moaning all the time about it.The doctor told me it can last for up to 2 years.I have been doing exercises to try and help the pain and my neck has also become sore that i find it hard to move that to.At the weekend i felt pain in my left shoulder and i started to panic.If i can hardly do things with one shoulder like this how will it be with the two.

I try to get on with things day by day but sometimes i feel hard done by.Why do i have this.Why wont it go away.Its terrible to such self pity as i know people go through worse things but when its yourself going through such pain its hard not to start feeling down about it.

If anyone may be going through this condition it would be very helpful to hear how u are handling the situation!

Thanks for Reading.xxx
Posted 6/21/2013 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Fairy Tale and welcome to the chronic pain forum. I am sorry to read that you are having such a time with your shoulder. Here in the states many times the drs will put the patient to sleep and manipulate their shoulder to break up the adhesions that has caused the shoulder to freeze up. This is a common problem with shoulders but generally this happens when there has been an injury or a shoulder surgery involved. If you will use the search feature here at the forum & type in frozen shoulder you will find several posts on this subject.

With you living outside of the states I do not know if your drs do this type of treatment or not. You have to keep the shoulder moving as much as possible. If PT does not break up the scar tissue/adhesions you may want to talk to your dr about this.

I am short on time right now but wanted to pop on & tell you welcome to the forum.....Susie
Posted 6/21/2013 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Straydog,

Thank you so much for your lovely welcome and for your helpful suggestions.

I have not heard of that before in Ireland but i am sure if i looked deep into i may find if it is done here.I will check out the posts on Frozen Shoulder in the forum!

Thanks again!!
Posted 6/22/2013 12:26 AM (GMT 0)
I'm glad you saw a doctor and got a diagnosis.

Several years ago I had 2 frozen shoulders that came on fairly suddenly. I could barely get my hands up to my mouth. I went down to a pool and started dog paddling. I stayed in very shallow water because I wouldn't have been able to save myself. I paddled at least once a day all summer, and gradually was able to reach farther and farther. In about 2 months my shoulders were perfectly fine and it's never come back.

Follow the doctor's orders. Anti inflammatory should help.
Posted 6/26/2013 3:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Alcie,

Thank you so much for your helpful comment.I had heard that swimming may help.I am nervous to do it because of the pain but i may take it up and see if it may help me!I am willing to try anything at this stage.As my neck hurts badly with this i am heading to a Physio on Monday to see if she can help me get more movement in my arm and neck so fingers crossed!

Thanks again and glad to hear that you mad a recovery with this.gives me some hope!
Posted 6/26/2013 5:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Fairy tale!  Well, I have just gone through the frozen shoulder routine and have corrected the situation with no medication.  I couldn't lift my arm either.  Getting dressed was a trick and holding a hair blower was unbelievable.  I couldn't put dishes in the cupboards, couldn't reach without pain that could bring me to my knees.  I couldn't reach behind my back either. 

 

My doctor sent me to a physical therapist and she helped me with some exercises I could do to help bring more range of motion back to my shoulder.  This did help.

 

I have fibromyalgia, another chronic pain problem, that deals with muscles, tendons, and ligaments.  I will get pain in places and have found that much of the pain is referred pain.  So I bought a book called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook that I found on Amazon and it is fantastic!  It shows were the trigger points are and you can massage those areas and it relieves pain. 

 

So, I got out that book and looked up rotor cuff to see where the trigger points were for this area.  You see, you have muscles going from your back, your shoulder blade, your neck, and your chest wall...all feeding into the shoulder.  The physical therapist showed me this.  Anyway, in the book it showed the trigger points that can affect the shoulder and I started massaging those areas and now I have almost complete range of motion back! 

 

I see a neuromuscular massage therapist and she taught me how to get to those trigger points.  You will know when you have found them because if you press on them, it will be very tender.  What you do is you press as hard on the trigger point as  you can stand.  Then  you massage it for a few seconds and then press again.  This helps loosen the muscle knots and smoothes the muscle so it relieves pain.   Keep doing this until the trigger point doesn't hurt nearly as much and then move to the next area.  This really does work.

 

I had a terrible pain in my side one night and couldn't stand the pain.  I got up, checked where the trigger points were for that area and they actually were running along my spine.  I live alone so I got my tennis ball and leaned against it on the wall.  I found the tender areas, pressed into the ball, then moved slightly to simulate massage.  I did this for several minutes and the side pain improved immensely...enough that I could go back to bed and go to sleep!  The next morning my side didn't hurt at all.  So it does work.

 

So you might want to check out that book.  Amazon lets you read the first few chapters so you will get an idea about the book.  It's not expensive either...around $16.  I did show the book to my physical therapist, she loved it, and ordered her own copy!

 

Here is a good link from the Mayo Clinic about a frozen shoulder. 

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/frozen-shoulder/DS00416

 

Hope this helps you.

 

Sherrine

Posted 6/27/2013 10:40 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Sherrine!

Thank you so so much for your comment!!I am delighted to hear that your Frozen Shoulders have gone!It really gives me great hope that mine will also go at some stage as lately i have felt that this will never ever go away!!

I am sitting in work at the moment and have had a go at finding my Trigger point which i think is in the middle of my shoulder.This is were the pain had first started months back and i can still feel the pain there when i press into it.I have also found the same tasks so hard to do.I get the boyfriend to wash my hair for me a few times!Got more water on my the floor than my hair haha.i find it hard in work also.I am lucky i work on Reception were i can sit for most of the day though but even typing and taking in deliveries is hard but i try the best i can to get on with it.I wish i didnt have to take so much medication for this but i find the pain is to much to bear if i dont.

I Must look into this book.It sounds like it is a great help.You have been so helpful with your suggestions and i am so grateful for this.I have also clicked into the Mayo Clinic link you kindly posted.

I will be going to my first Physical Therapist appointment on Monday evening so i will say to her about the trigger point.The end of last year i also went through a hard time with pain in my right foot and i found her very helpful with that situation.

I hope that you are going through a pain free time now and that you dont have anymore problems that u find hard to deal with.


Thanks once again for everything!
Posted 6/27/2013 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
You have trigger points all over your body.  That's where the book comes in handy...where to look to help pain you are having.

 

If you feel your chest from the breast bone moving up to the bad shoulder, I bet it's tender!  Start massaging the muscles in that area.  Other trigger points are in the neck and also around the shoulder.  At the top of the shoulder you will feel bone and ligaments that narrow from the neck to the shoulder...kind of like a "v".  If you press in that there are trigger points there, too.  Massage that area.  Also, if you take the opposite hand and place it over the ad shoulder there are trigger points there...at the back of the shoulder but above the shoulder blade.  These are the primary points to look for.

 

I started the physical therapy the end of November of last year and finished it the end of December of last year.  But I continued the exercises and then did all this massaging and by April I was doing really good and I continue to get better, too.  My doctor had wanted to give me a cortisone shot in the shoulder but I declined.  I'm glad I did!

 

Sherrine

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