Frozen Shoulder

I've got a frozen shoulder that started in April 2010 and was extremely painful, particularly when I made a sudden, reflex arm movement (eg when I noticed a spider on my arm). There was a lot of swearing because it was excruiatingly painful for a minute or so. But the pain has now largely gone away (since mid July). My shoulder's still frozen and annoying, but that horrible painful period shouldn't last too long.

I've read about a lot of people's experiences online, and the consensus seems to be that interventions like injections and surgery have very mixed results and are probably not worth it given that it will resolve itself naturally over time. I'm going to a physio who recommends gentle exercises that don't hurt which makes sense to me ...

Good luck, I hope you feel better soon!

My shoulder problems started beginning of this year after stripping six layers of wallpaper in the lounge which was quite extreme DIY. Shoulder started to hurt and I carried on working. It hurt even more but I carried on thinking it will pass. It didn't and it got more painful, eventually restricting the movement. I had a blind cortisone shot which did nothing and then had an MRI which showed \"impingement bursitis and bone spurs\". The pain got to the point where I was not functioning, not sleeping, was off sick and I paid to see a consultant privately (not cheap!). He \"rubbished\" the MRI results and said I had now developed a frozen shoulder and it was that was causing the pain. I paid for my own physio as the NHS wiating list was 2 months and I was in agony. I had five sessions which did nothing. I was then referred for an ultrasound guided cotisone injection in June. Two months later I am still waiting for the date ! In the meantime, enough was enough and I paid for it privately given the pain I was in. It did very little, but I believe I had now gone into phase 2 whereby you still get excruciating pain upon movement, but not necessarily the CONSTANT excruciating pain. Nothing has helped - including the NHS !! Physio did not help. Cortisone shots did not help. To me it seems it is something that will run its course.

I spoke to a friend of mine who had a frozen shoulder and he had capsular release, performed by Richard **** who is a private consultant, but he also does some work on the NHS. He is based at a hospital near Windsor and your GP can refer you to him. I would say keep on going to your GP - go every day if necessary - it is his duty to refer you to a consultant.

The only relief I get is when I see a therapist who practices Tuina - quite an aggressive, intensive massage therapy using heat. I was referred to him by my boss who was on the verge of having neck surgery and was in extreme pain - he sorted him out permanently and never needed the surgery. I am very cynical with alternative therapies myself but this is not necessarily an alternative therapy as such as it is totally hands-on, manipulative therapy. He reckons five sessions and I should be a whole lot better and I must say I am better after two - but you will need to pay for it.

I always found I was better off sleeping with three pillows at a 45 dgree angle, rather than having something just under my shoulder/arm as I found it was an unnatural position. I have recently put a thick soft duvet under my side of the bed which makes it a lot softer and more comfortable.

Painkillers did not work. I even took Tramadol (like Morphine) which did not take the pain away. I do get relief when I rub Chinese Wood Lock oil on my shoulder and arm - it is a treatment like Deep Heat but a lot stronger and makes your shoulder get really hot, bringing blood to the area. Recommended to me by the therapist and it does not cost much,

The consultant put me on the waiting list for Manipulation Under Anaesthesia which is quite controlversial - I do not know if I will go ahead with it. I am optimistic that I will get further good results with the Tuina, enabling me to be relatively pain free and able to go back to work and function semi-normally !

It is a terribly debilitating, excruciatingly painful condition that very few people realise. Do go back to your GP, again and again. I threatened to also go to A&E if my GP hadn;t done anything. You must persist - it is your right to get a consultants opinion.

Chris

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I saw my GP today and he has now referred me to an orthapaedic consultant as the steroid injection has made little improvement to ease the pain or increase the movement in my shoulder range, so surgery looks like my only solution.

I dread to think how long the referral will take, my GP said it will be ages!

I've checked on the NHS website and referrals can take up to 18 weeks..... I've been signed off work since May

I am really sorry to hear you have beens igned off for so long. I manage to get to work but I start late, leave early, and leave when the pain is getting worse.

Your GP should have looked on the Choose and Book system to see which consultant had the shortest waiting list as this information is available to him/her online. If possible, try to get referred to a private hospital who take NHS patients. There are some private hospitals that accept NHS patients - I am seeing a consultant in North London at a private hospital. I managed to get my 2nd guided cortisone injection the week following the consultant said I should have it done. When I waited for it on the NHS it took three months. The NHS are \"sub-contracting\" work out to private hospitals and you get treated as a private patient which is brilliant. I am very lucky to be seeing a consultant like this. I believe you have a right to go to any hospital that you wish, anywhere - you don't have to stick with your local NHS hospital which will no doubt have horrendous waiting lists.

All this information will be available to your GP on the CHoose and Book system. Press to get an earlier appointment.

I am having good results from Tui-na therapy which is an intensive massage and manipulation Have had five sessions now and he treats not just the shoulder but surrounding muscles and I am no longer climbing the walls with pain.

OMG, At least reading all this i know I'm not alone,

I'm 50 have been diabetic for three years,

I slipped in the bath in late Jan 2010 it hurt like hell but I'm not one for going to the docs, the pain did subside, then in Feb i went on a first aid course and found i couldn't do the heart massage on the manikin as it was so painful to press down, and the bit where you have a partner and practice putting each other into a recovery position was impossible .... still didn't go to the docs as i had my daughter coming over to visit from aboard ,, i did go to the doc in April where they diagnosed frozen shoulder as i couldn't lift my left arm above waist level, and i was having trouble pulling up my pants, to wear a bra was out of the question, .....

they gave me pain killers that were no help what so ever, believe me i've had so many different pain killers in different combinations, had a cortisone injection into the shoulder none have helped i'm sure my doctor thought i was a junky after some morphine,

i was sent for physio but on the second session he said he couldn't help as the arm was so stiff so he sent me back to my doc, i was then sent to have x rays, ad an appointment was made to see the orthopaedic surgeon, the waiting time for this was 4 months (scream!!!!) Ive just seen him last week, and i am booked for surgery but guess what????? the waiting list for this is 3 months (an even bigger scream) but i might get in quicker if someone else cancels, before i left the hospital they gave me another shot of cortisone, its not worked but i am in more pain now than before, instead of having that constant background pain like something eating on my bone and that terrible spasm when you realise you've moved your arm a bit too far (so bad i can only liken it to having labour pains in your arm) i now have to add to it this new agony of my arm feeling too heavy to lift, i have to lift it with my right hand, its awful pain, i can now understand why people take their own life ive thought about it on many a lonely night when im sitting here on my computer trying to keep my mind off the pain while the rest of the house are in dreamland.

No you are not alone. In fact, you are not even alone when you are trawling the internet at 3am looking for miracle cures for a frozen shoulder because I do it too. That just shows how a FS takes over your whole life.

Just been to the docs tonight for a medication review. I am now trying diclofenac and co-codamol together - haven't had diclofenac before so see how it works. FS is the MRSA of pain - for me it has been totally resistant to pain. I have my third and final cortison injection a week ago - ultrasound guided - no better as yet, but they do see give it six weeks! I am not convinced about the six week thing.

Anyway, earlier this year I booked to go to Barbados beginning of October and sometimes wished I hadn't but this damn thing is not going to control my life like it has been. Seeing consultant next week and am going to ask for capsular release or manipulation for when I get back in October because I cannot put up with this any more.

For what's its worth, my lifesavers have been :

1. my Tui-na therapist (going tomorrow for my weekly session) as he releases all the surrounding muscles as well as working on the shoulder,

2.Wood Lock oil which is a very powerful Chinese analgesic that stinks to high heaven but rub a few drops on your shoulder and it makes your shoulder really really hot (20 x more powerful than deep heat, tiger balm etc) !! and only £10 for a bottle that lasts for ages

3. Sleeping on a double quilt under me which provides a much softer base

A hairdryer on the shoulder to heat up the shoulder and brings blood to the surface sometimes helps at night. Cannot bear it when my shoulder gets cold.

Everybody is different but if, like me, you are searching for a magic cure, one of these just might bring you a tiny bit of relief ! I hope so.

Chris

I started having problems with my right shoulder in early June this year (2014). I was having huge issues with my arm movement. I was in Spain then on an extended holiday so I waited till I was back in the UK to see a Dr. at my surgery. The 1st just said if it got worse I could ask for a cortisone injection! I saw another Dr. at that surgery who sent me for an xray plus gave me two weeks of anti inflammatories which did nothing!  Xray report said "almost completely normal, just minimal sclerosis under the tip of the acromion which could be from rotator cuff disease". Saw my own Dr. (3rd one by now) on 20th August after I said "give me cortisone, I can't take this any more!" She said it might not work but gave me a shot which I did not find painful though it stung slightly as the cortisone & anaesetic was put in. I'd read online it takes 2-3 days of feeling worse before the pain goes but to date (I had it done Wednesday, it's now Monday) it's just given me pain. Arghhh! I sympathise with anyone with this, it's often like throbbing toothache in my shoulder & around that area. If I press deep into my armpit it hurts like hell, the muscles in my right arm from my elbow are tight, everything is burning & stinging.

Debs1007, I am so sorry to hear of your pain and suffering.  I am all too familiar with it.  December of 2013 I had several fractures to my shoulder from a bad fall.  Because of the immobilization required to heal the fractures I developed a very severe frozen shoulder.  I had months of painful therapy with an amazing therapist.  I did 3 hours of therapy at home each day trying everything to progress.  As you mention, sleep was almost impossible.  I was unable to work for 7 months.  The cortisone injection helped some but only improved my range of motion a bit and it was painfully clear I was still going nowhere in therapy.  I have an awesome ortho doc and physical therapist. 

Needing to get back to work asap, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery to fix the problem.  It was the BEST decision I could have possibly made.  The recovery from the surgery itself pailed in comparison to the horrible pain I had endured for months.

I was in a CPM chair for 6 hours a day starting the day of surgery for a total of 3 weeks.  That was rough but I do believe jump started me to an amazing recovery.

My surgery was in May 2014.  I go to therapy once a week.  I returned to work as a nurse in July 2014.  I don't have complete range yet but I am getting closer everyday.

I know surgery is not for everyone and I wouldn't presume it is for you.  I just wanted to share that for me, it was the only thing that gave me the ability to work hard and actually get better.  If you live in the Atlanta area, I am happy to share the name of my surgeon and therapist.

 

I am a massage therapist and in my practice often see cases of frozen shoulder as a result of repetitive movements or trauma due to a fall. My own husband fell hard on his shoulder while water-skiing and could'nt lift his arm hardly at all afterwards. I performed trigger-point therapy on a very tender spot near the top of his shoulder blade for 20 minutes and repeated the treatment 2 days later. That's all it took. No more frozen shoulder. Completely gone. So many cases of bodily pain are due to trigger points in various muscles and can be succesfully gotten rid of with trigger point therapy without the need for surgery, pills or injections. Your muscles just need some manual help to release. It's crazy how much pain a trigger point can create if left untreated. Some long-suffering trigger points can create other satellite trigger points in surrounding muscles that pick up the slack for the originally affected muscle. So if you only feel the pain during movement, it's the muscle. Get it properly massaged. If it hurts even at rest, could be tendinitis which is inflammation of the tendon. Apply heat,  rest it and use anti-inflammatories if you have to.

Get yourself a tens unit off amazon. The best thing I did for myself. I went to therapy for about a month but couldnt afford to keep it up. Surgery not an option for the same reason, so I'm on my own with this for the next two years.  The tens unit is my new best friend. When the pain starts up I just put the pads on and let it take the pain away. You will hear different suggestions on how long to leave the pads on. I leave them on for hours if that what it takes. I've never had a problem. My daughter has now borrowed my unit for her back pain and I need to get it back! Lol! This sucks, but paying for a bunch of therapy that really does nothing more than what you can do yourself is a waste of money. Everything you do at therapy you can do at home with excercise bands or against a door frame. Save yourself a fortune!