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yes i've heard it is primarily women, in their 50s and 60s.
i work in healthcare and I just know from talking to clinicians across the board they all said do NOT get surgery as it has a very poor rate of success.
I too worked in healthcare-from 2001-2007. Three of those years in rehab in a hospital setting. Believe me, I took notes.
Now that I am in my 50's, frozen shoulder crops up at times. I try to do the PT/OT range of motion exercises, as well as moist and dry heat. Frozen shoulder comes and goes.
Sleeping with my arms supported on pillows helps, as does staying active enough. Gosh this aging thing stinks
A friend of mine had frozen shoulder. She was in agony. She was put under anesthetic at the hospital and they manipulated it to free it. She was fine after a couple of weeks.
She DID have to sign a release for though, in case they broke bones when they did the manipulation.
This was quite a long time ago. Maybe it isn't an option now, but she certainly never regretted it.
Manipulation under anesthesia is still done for frozen shoulder and is certainly an option if it does not respond to more conservative measures...
There are risks involved as you noted including fracture, dislocation, rotator cuff injury, nerve injury. Essentially tearing through scar tissue but it can be very effective.
Manipulation under anesthesia is still done for frozen shoulder and is certainly an option if it does not respond to more conservative measures...
There are risks involved as you noted including fracture, dislocation, rotator cuff injury, nerve injury. Essentially tearing through scar tissue but it can be very effective.
That must be what my husband did for my frozen shoulder. He sure didn't use anesthesia though!
I had been stuck like that for a few years after I fell and had the frozen shoulder. PT only helped so much. Above a certain point, I could not raise my arm without horrible pain. I thought I was going to be like that forever. He had some sort of training back in the UK--good thing I didn't know there were any risks, lol. Good thing I met him!
My first experience with frozen shoulder. This is month 4 of screaming pain, restricted activity, low energy, severely compromised sleep (waking up 8 or 9 times per night). My usual go to remedies (massage, accupuncture, Chinese medicine herbs) are not working which is a first for me. Also not responsive to PT. Craniosacral has helped some. I'm next scheduled for a Qigong treatment (I typically respond well to Chinese medicine). And have just in the last few days read about EFT tapping so will try that on my own.
I am not open to surgery, injections, or pharmaceuticals. My sense is there is a blockage or underlying emotional cause that needs to be addressed or released. So I don't want to just mask symptoms but release what the concern is causing the symptoms. My labs are fine, xrays show nothing including no arthritis. I've been told variously supraspinatus tendinitis, impingement, bursitis.
For this thread I am curious to hear from you any or all of the following: what resolved or helped you with your frozen shoulder, how long did it take to resolve, what therapies did you try and what was your response to them.
And with your frozen shoulder what did you sense or feel it was connected to either emotionally or metaphorically with anything going on in your life past or present, how did the frozen shoulder fit in your life story of events or specific emotions.
Thank you everyone
An injection of steriods can bring you relief and WILL release what is causing the symptoms. Inflammation leads to more inflammation. It is not a pain reliever, it doesn't mask symptoms.
Emotional blockage? Jeez, I WISH my joint pains were due to emotional blockage. You may want therapy to find out the reason for your emotional need to be in pain when a solution is readily available, will be covered by insurance, takes about 2 minutes.
It sounds like OP is interested in more alternative medicines which is fine if it works but I can't imaging prolonging the pain of frozen shoulder. I had a pretty severe case; so much so the doctor started talking about surgery if it didn't improve. Over the course of about ten months, I had two cortisone shots, three rounds of oral steroids, and PT 2x week at first, then down to 1x at the end. I also found a massage therapist who was experienced in therapeutic massage and went 2x month in the beginning.
The most important thing to me was finding the right physical therapist. I changed after a month with the first one because all she did was send me around with her assistant to complete exercises on my own, then lay me on a table and move my arm/shoulder around for five minutes while I screamed. The second physical therapist was much more knowledgeable and experienced. She worked with me one-on-one (not an assistant) and incorporated stretching, weights, exercise machines, electronic pulse (can't remember the exact name of that machine), massage, cupping, and the dreaded manual manipulation.
I'm back to about 90% range of motion now. I'm still not able to reach as far back as my good arm/shoulder but I don't have any more pain and the doctor/PT said it will continue to loosen so I may get back to 100% with normal use.
My first experience with frozen shoulder. This is month 4 of screaming pain, restricted activity, low energy, severely compromised sleep (waking up 8 or 9 times per night). My usual go to remedies (massage, accupuncture, Chinese medicine herbs) are not working which is a first for me. Also not responsive to PT. Craniosacral has helped some. I'm next scheduled for a Qigong treatment (I typically respond well to Chinese medicine). And have just in the last few days read about EFT tapping so will try that on my own.
I am not open to surgery, injections, or pharmaceuticals. My sense is there is a blockage or underlying emotional cause that needs to be addressed or released. So I don't want to just mask symptoms but release what the concern is causing the symptoms. My labs are fine, xrays show nothing including no arthritis. I've been told variously supraspinatus tendinitis, impingement, bursitis.
For this thread I am curious to hear from you any or all of the following: what resolved or helped you with your frozen shoulder, how long did it take to resolve, what therapies did you try and what was your response to them.
And with your frozen shoulder what did you sense or feel it was connected to either emotionally or metaphorically with anything going on in your life past or present, how did the frozen shoulder fit in your life story of events or specific emotions.
Thank you everyone
Interesting that this post came up when it did. I had a minor flare up of my frozen shoulder on the same day.
I had a pretty severe case of it about seven years ago. It got to the point that everyday things like washing my hair or getting dressed were extremely painful. I initially went to my GP and he tried a cortisone shot, but it had no effect at all.
Next he sent me to an orthopedic guy who then prescribed six weeks of physical therapy. The therapy combined exercises, electrical stimulation, manipulation and massage. I guess I'm weird, but i kind of enjoyed these sessions even though there was some pain involved. I was very diligent about doing my exercises at home between sessions. After six weeks there was significant improvement and I continued to do my exercises at home. After a few more weeks of that I was pretty much back to normal so I discontinued the exercises. Unfortunately the problem came back so I started the exercises again until the problem cleared up again. Since then I've been pretty much cured and have had 100% range of motion back.
I have never considered that my frozen shoulder was anything but a physical problem. In fact I think I know exactly what caused my problem. In the month prior to my initial problem I made several long trips driving my truck for hours at a time. While doing this I usually propped my left elbow on the sill of my window. I think having my arm in this unnatural position for hours at a time caused my shoulder to freeze up. I've noticed anytime I drive for extended periods I'll have a flare up unless I remember to keep my elbow off the sill. I mentioned that I had a minor flare up on Sunday. Guess what I did Saturday? Yep drove my truck for six hours and honestly it had been so long since I'd had a problem that I didn't even think about not propping my elbow. Whenever I have a flare up I just do some stretching for next few days and it goes away.
Hope this helps and good luck.
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