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Frozen hip or adhesive capsulitis of the hip.

Posted , 24 users are following.

Oliveria
Oliveria

A little over a year ago I had a really bad fall in my hip, after few weeks I started to develop a little bit of discomfort and I went to see a doctor. Doctor sent me to physio but it didn't seem to help. 6 months later I had lots of snaping sounds, my leg start to give away. Now I saw a specialist that send me for diferent kind of tests, including bone scan, ct scan, X rays, MRI arthrogram. I didn't had any flexion, extension, abduction , adduction , internal rotation and external rotation. The results of all these tests came out negative, not even labral tear, my hip was perfectly fine.

I think the radiologists, doctors are very unfamiliar and misdiagnose these problem, they didn't know what to make out of it. The specialist wanted to send me back to my GP doctor, then I explain to him what I was thinking my problem was, "adhesive capsulitis of the hip" or "frozen hip" he got a surprise face and promise me to take a read on it and that I had to come back to see him, not after sending me for a second cortizone injection that didn't do nothing for me. Came back to see him after my second cortizone shot 6 weeks later, told me he had a read in to my problem and that was likely that I actually had that diagnosis. He mention to me he was very unfamiliar with this condition he would have to send me with another specialist to see if he would happen to see any of these diagnosis. Now Im waiting for the second specialist appointment. I live in Canada and here takes up to a year or more to see a specialist. Here I'm almost 14 months later, still suffering from a terrible pain, imposible to have a decent sleep at night. Im a 47 year old women and seems that Im in the age range for this kind of condition to ocurre. Despicte I think mine was because of the terrible accident I had. I just wanted to share this and see if anybody out there suffer the same condition or have been under diagnose. I hope to heard from any of you, would be really good to create awarenes of this terrible , debilitating condition.

Sorry, I hope my writting is good enough to understand.

1 like, 50 replies

50 Replies

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  • tapestrypuppet
    tapestrypuppet Oliveria

    Posted

    Hello!

    I also have frozen hip. I'm 37, and I've been dealing with this for over 3 years now.

    There was no injury to start all of this, I just started feeling an ache, as if I had pulled my groin muscle, and it started to slowly get worse, and I began losing my range of motion. I was very active, doing workouts every day, so it wasn't due to inactivity either.

    I had physical therapy, then a cortisone injection, and I had sugery (arthroscopy) in July. Aside from capsulitis, I also had a small bone spur and a labral tear. I've had a lot of physical therapy since then, and I have not regained any range of motion. AT ALL! The doctor said my leg moved freely during surgery, but I've not been able to get any movement out of it. I can walk fairly normally, but stairs can be difficult depending on the day. My hip has basically no rotation, pretty much no range of motion at all, other than normal walking motion. Like you said before, it's like it's glued to the pelvis.

    They gave me another corison shot a couple weeks ago, which did nothing, of course. I have another appointment in December, at which time he'll schedule another arthroscopy for capsulitis. He seems to think it'll work, but I'm hesitant to get my hopes up, as I was sure the first surgery was going to fix it.

    It helps to know others are going through the same thing, since the doctors and therapists all talk about how they've never seen a case like mine, or just one or two other cases! I hope you can find relief, I know I'll not stop until something starts to help me. It's super frustrating to have every treatment bring no results, especially surgery!

    Good luck with yours!

    • irau
      irau tapestrypuppet

      Posted

      I just passed the 6 month mark with my frozen hip. I have found some relief with a procedure called Intramuscular Stimulation also known as dry needling. It is a temporary pain relief measure but it was good to get a break from the pain. The other thing I found very helpful is taking a Pilates class because Pilates is all about joint motion. Progress for me has been very slow but there is progress. It's very important to keep up with a daily exercise routine that focuses on quads, glutes and hamstrings. I try to stay away from medication but occasionally I will use Motrin Muscle and Body just to get a good night's sleep. Keep us posted on how your next surgery goes.
    • tapestrypuppet
      tapestrypuppet irau

      Posted

      I will!

      I'm glad you're finding some relief! I've not heard of Intramuscular stimulation, that may be something to bring up in the future!

      Among the workouts I did before all this happened was yoga, and I was still working out when I started losing range of motion, so yoga was getting harder and I was getting worse at doing the poses, despite the fact that I was pushing and trying. I had to stop working out completely after a year because it kept getting tweaked and stabbing with pain during aerobic activity.

      I've not found any pain medicine that helps, but luckily I can walk and sleep now without pain (most of the time). I tried 3 different prescription pain meds during recovery from surgery and I don't think any of them worked on me.

      I'm just frustrated that I'm supposed to do all these exercises, but I was exercising every day when this all started, and it didn't stop my hip from freezing up!

      All I can do is keep going, I guess!

      Good luck to you, I hope you can regain movement before too long!

  • tapestrypuppet
    tapestrypuppet Oliveria

    Posted

    Hi again everyone!

    I just had my second surgery on the 23rd. The doctor went in and released the capsule again, and cleared out scar tissue. Apparently, there was a LOT of scare tissue for some reason. Also, the small bone spur had started to grow back, so he took that off again.

    I've already seen results this time around. I had physical therapy the day after surgery, and I could almost get my knee to my chest and I actually have rotation now, instead of none! So, I feel more hopeful this time around.

    I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

    • Oliveria
      Oliveria tapestrypuppet

      Posted

      Hi tappestrypupet, how nice of you to share your news at this time.

      Im so very happy for you that this time around you are really seeing some progress.

      How long do you have your surgery and how you are seeing the progress??? Please keep us on the loop.

      Im going right now to the swimming pool trying to do something before i can see the surgeon on May.

      You are really giving me hope after 3 years of pain and suffering.

      Im once again very happy for you from the bottom of my heart, since I dont think anyone that doesnt go through this can possibly understand this terrible condition.

      Many blessing from me, wishing you a very quick recovery.

      Happy holidays and a very Healthy New Year.

    • tapestrypuppet
      tapestrypuppet Oliveria

      Posted

      Thank you!

      My surgery was the 23rd, and the very next day I saw the results I talked about!

      It's still sore from surgery, but it can move way more than it has for years! I have to move it slowly for now, but I have a lot of physical therapy to go through, so I'll keep you posted!

      There is hope for everyone! This is not a common condition, but you can't stop trying to get better! Eventually we should all be able to find something that works for us!

    • donna00561
      donna00561 tapestrypuppet

      Posted

      HI, PLEASE SEE THE MESSAGE I POSTED TO OLIVERIA.  REALLY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DOCTOR DID YOU SURGERY.  WHEN I SAY "I HAVE A FROZEN HIP"  THEY ALL LOOK AT ME LIKE I'M CRAZY AND TELL ME IT'S MY BACK.  WOULD LOVE A DIRECT ROUTE TO A DOCTOR THAT KNOWS ABOUT A FROZEN HIP.

      THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, I'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS FOR 6 1/2 YEARS.

      DONNA JEAN

  • donna00561
    donna00561 Oliveria

    Posted

    IT'S SO NICE TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE OTHERS GOING THROUGH THIS.  I HAVE HAD A FROZN HIP FOR MORE THAN 6 YEARS.  ALL THE DOCTORS I'VE BEEN TO SAY IT'S MY BACK, NOT MY HIP.  YES, I HAVE BACK ISSUES, BUT HAVE WORKED OUT MY ENTIRE LIFE AND KNOW THAT THERE IS A BIG PROBLEM WHEN YOU CAN'T WALK!!!

    I HAVE APPOINTMENTS WITH THE BACK SURGEON, BUT COULD LIVE WITH THOSE ISSUES.  I JUST WANT TO WALK THE DOG AND BE ABLE TO WORK IN MY YARD.

    I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DOCTOR DID TAPESTRYPUPPETS SURGERY.  THE FIRST DOCTOR I WENT TO WAS PORTLANDS PREMIER HIP SPECIALIST, HE SAID IT WAS MY BACK.

    WENT TO PHYSICAL THERAPY, THEY GAVE ME BALANCE AND CORE EXERCISES TO DO, NOTHING FOR THE HIP.

    I FOUND HIP EXERCISES ON THE NET, WHICH HELPED FOR AWHILE UNTIL I BROKE SOME TOES, COULDN'T DO THEM. AND THEN SPRAINED MY ANKLE, COULDN'T DO THEM.  

    I AM DESPERATE.  I HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN DEEP TISSUE MESSAGE BI MONTHLY, WHICH HELPS A LITTLE.  HAD ACCUPUNCTURE, HELPED A LITTLE.  BUT IN BOTH CASES CANNOT WALK MORE THAN 100 YARDS.  PAIN IN BUTT, RADIATES TO GROID AND THEN OUTSIDE OF HIP.  THEN I AM AWAKE ALL NIGHT.

    I WOULD WELCOME THE HOPE OF ARTHROSCOPY, BUT DON'T KNOW WHAT TYPE OF DOCTOR TO SEE.

    • tapestrypuppet
      tapestrypuppet donna00561

      Posted

      Hi Donna Jean!

      He is a specialist in a couple areas, and hip is one of them. He doesn't specialize in hip replacements, just arthroscopy.

      He's only seen one other case as bad as mine in his career, so it's not surprising that you're having trouble finding doctors that know what you're talking about. Although, they should really look into it if you're offering information they haven't heard about! Obviously it exists!

      Maybe your doctors can contact my doctor to ask about it? Maybe that could get the ball rolling for you.

      I hope you can start to get help (that will actually help) soon!

      Christie

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    • terry74787
      terry74787 donna00561

      Posted

      Try finding a Physiatrist. It's a relatively new specialty and it's all about where is your pain coming from. Not necessarily from or caused by area where you feel pain. Don't know where you live. But we have a great one here in St. Louis MO ...top 15 in the country. You need someone that will actually examine you in a gown and watch your range of motion Etc.  Amazingly there are Physiatrists that actually don't examine you. They are a waste of time.  
    • Oliveria
      Oliveria donna00561

      Posted

      Hi Donna, sorry to heard your going throug this. This is the most frustrating, debilitating, painful condition that any doctor can understand.

      Doctors dont have an idea of the extent of this diagnosis.

      I still haing a hard time doctor understanding what is realaly happening.

      Send me with the best specialist in Vancouver at GF strong and they still doub it that was adhesive capsulitis of the hip (this was recently after going with many other doctors). In the description that was sent to my main doctor they mention they doubt that is adhesive capsulitis because is taking more then the normal amount of time that this diagnosis have (around 2 years). You can imagine my frustration when i went to see my main doctor at UBC pain clinic (a wonderful doctor at this clinic, he understand the problem but he is not a surgeon) and he gave me the copy of the report I just couldnt believe it. Frustrating very frustrating, they dont have an idea for what you are going through. I have an appointment with surgeon in May and he may not be able to understand or want to have surgery on me because is nothing in all the studies they are done. MrI, CT scan, etc..

      If this happen, i will have to go to Mexico to find a good surgeon there.

      I would like to know also which doctor tappestrypuppet is seeing and in which city????

      Donna i know exactly how desperate you are trying to find a solution.

      Im going to swimming pool everyday to do some exercices there, is helping with little more rotation but I dont think will solve the problem.

      I see little more movement and more rotation, Im doing this since September, basically, 3 months. I will keep posting here if a see bigger improcements but definitly is helping some how.

      All the best to you and we wish tappestripuppet a full recovery because she is our hope.

      Please rappestrypuppet keep us inform of your progress and all my best in your recovery.

      Donna, many blessings to you and keep us posted, dont give up, keep looking for the right doctor.

      Sincerely,

    • tapestrypuppet
      tapestrypuppet Oliveria

      Posted

      Hello!

      I replied to Donna earlier, but my comment is waiting for moderation because I included a link to my doctor on it.

      While waiting for my comment to appear, I'll let you know the name of my doctor so you guys can look him up if you want (as soon as my comment from earlier is approved, there should be a link to him)

      His name is Bryan L Reuss, and he works at the Orlando Orthopaedic Center in Orlando, Florida.

      Maybe it would help your doctors if they could talk to mine, since he's had a little experience with capsulitis anyway!

    • Oliveria
      Oliveria tapestrypuppet

      Posted

      Thanks a lot tappestry. I hope you are doing very well. Please, keep us inform with your progress since would give as so much hope.

      Thanks a lot!!!!

    • frozen_stiff
      frozen_stiff Oliveria

      Posted

      In a frozen shoulder all will resolve with time whether it is one year or even four. Although patients are diagnosed with a frozen hip none seem to resolve without treatment. If this is true then there is no freezing, staying frozen, resolution and defrosting stage. In the literature frozen hips can be helped and even cured but I can not find an article which shows it will resolve on it's own. Therefore is there such a condition as a frozen hip?. Has anyone any knowledge of such a condition resolving fully after several years without ttreatment?
    • donna00561
      donna00561 frozen_stiff

      Posted

      HI, I HAD A FROZEN SHOULDER SEVERAL YEARS AGO, IT WAS VERY PAINFUL.  BUT WITH A COUPLE CORTISONE SHOTS AND TWO MONTHS OF INTENSE PHYSICAL THERAPHY AND THEN DOING THE PT AT HOME, I GOT 100% USAGE BACK.  HOWEVER, I HAVE HAD THIS FROZEN HIP FOR OVER 6 YEARS AND CANNOT FIND ONE "PROFESSIONAL" THAT KNOW ABOUT IT.

      PORTLAND HAS AN ABOVE AVERAGE NUMBER OF FIND DOCTORS WITH THE U OF O TEACHING HOSPITAL LOCATED HERE.  HOWEVER, BECAUSE THE OBVIOUS ANSWER IS BACK ISSUES, THEY DON'T LOOK FURTHER.  IN 2016 I AM GOING TO REALLY PUSH UNTIL I FIND SOMEONE THAT KNOW ABOUT A FROZEN HIP.  EVIDENTLY IT'S TOO RARE AND NOT LIFE THREATENING ENOUGH TO LEAR ABOUT!!!

      I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT ON THE 20th WITH THE BACK DOCTOR, WHOM I WILL TALK TURKEY TO.  I WILL REPOST AT THAT TIME AND AGAIN EACH TIME I SEE SOMEONE ELSE UNTIL WE GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. 

      WE HAVE MANY FIND DOCTORS AT OUR COUNTRY CLUB, I'M GOING TO PULL IN SOME FAVORS AND ASK THEM TO ASSIST IN THE RESEARCH.  I'M SURE IT'S JUST A MATTER OF FINDING THE RIGHT DOCTOR LIKE TAPESTRY FINALLY DID.

      IN THE MEAN TIME, HERE'S TO A HAPPY HEALTHIER NEW YEAR!!!!

      DONNA JEAN

       

    • Oliveria
      Oliveria frozen_stiff

      Posted

      Yes, I Know a person that had frozen hip and frozen shoulder, starting with one hip then the other, they resolve by themselves, but then she got a shoulder following the other shoulder.

      She was the person that actually told me what maybe happening to me.

      She had a really gard time foe about 8 years with her four joints.

    • Oliveria
      Oliveria donna00561

      Posted

      Hi Donna, hope you find the right doctor soon.

      It would be so good if the medical community, specially orthopedic surgeons would have more knowledge regarding this condition. Is really bad for a patient that has to go, one after one doctor without finding solutions.

      The worst is these doctors start giving you another diagnosis, ignoring you or start thinking that you may have depression or is just in your head. You just know within yourself that they don't have an idea of what you are talking about, hard for them to know unless they go throug it themselves. They dont have an idea of the extent of this terrible, debilitating and painful condition.

      I would love some how to create more awarenes in the medical community regarding this condition. The future fellow sufferers deserve it.

    • frozen_stiff
      frozen_stiff Oliveria

      Posted

      Hi Oliviera,in the frozen sholder it seems that those who have had a frozen shoulder seem to notice lateral rotation is restricted mostly, that is keeping your elbow to your side with the elbow flexed and trying to swing the hand away from the midline to the side. Perhaps the hip is similar. Try this, lie on your front face down knees together and knees flexed to 90 degrees. Have someone fix one foot and push the other foot away from the starting position and then the other side and compare. You could sit on a solid chair knees together and try yourself to swing one foot to full side or again  have someone do it.   Compair sides and let us know of any discrepancy on the painful side.
    • Oliveria
      Oliveria frozen_stiff

      Posted

      Hello frozen stiff. Thanks a lot for your interest in this case.

      Is actually exactly the same problem. Basically exterior rotation is totally restricted and is the last one to be recover for what I understand.

      Im unable to exterior rotate my knee or my whole leg. I basically cant do the Number 4 with my problem leg/knee due to my frozen hip.

      This is exactly the same limitations as on the shouldeer but in your hip/leg.

      Adhesive capsulitis can be found in any of your joints. Hips, shoulders, wrists, ankles,etc...

      The most commun being the shoulders.

      Thanks for your input. I hope I answer your question.

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