1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Frozen Shoulder

Orthopedic Surgeon Said, “Do NOT Do Physical Therapy In Painful Stage! Makes Worse”

Posted , 15 users are following.

Je_n
Je_n

Good morning all,

Finally saw an Orthopedic Specialist yesterday.  He told me that Physical Therapy was the worst thing you can do if you are still in the painfull stage of FS. Which is something myself and a lot of others on this website have suspected. He said it can auctually extend the FS and make it worse. The Ortho suggested doing a few of the excercises at home and if it hurts STOP.  I just wanted ot pass this along to everyone. This is something some of us learned the hard way. The doctor said this has to run it's course, there is nothing you can do to ride it out. 

The doctor also said that most Diabetics, such as myself a several others here, it takes about 3 years for us to cycle through Frozen Shoulder (FS). Guess I am only about 8 months in...Guess I am still in the freezing stage.  No surgery for me yet.. Going to try new treatments in a few months.

5 likes, 58 replies

58 Replies

Prev Next
  • valerie06033
    valerie06033 Je_n

    Posted

    Wow so many different opinions!  i've seen two orthos who said differently.  One when he described frozen shoulder, said because of the pain, people stop using their shoulder and then it scars down or freezes down or something like that.  idea being if you stop using it because of pain it wll freeze and he sent me to therapy.  Another i asked, should therapy or exercise be painful?  He said for stretching--Let it hurt!  For exercise-No, stop before pain.  Then my two PT's took different approaches too!  One stopped the stretching before pain as WELL as in exercise. The other doesn't think you should go overboard with certain exercises, but otherwise yes pain otherwise it will freeze!  She believes it's going to go through it's process whether you let it freeze or not but the stretching will keep it from freezing/scarring down.  oy vey what do you believe?  i'm in about month 4 of stage one of therapy has helped some. i still have good range but it's wanting to freeze down (worst part for me is i can't sleep on it, and my other side i shouldn't be sleeping on for a different medical reason!).  MSM (12 grams/day) helps me.  Diet seems to help too. (juicing, greens, avoiding sugar)  i know my body tends towards inflammation anyway--And i'll be that's a common denominator in FS sufferers...
    • karen25221
      karen25221 valerie06033

      Posted

      mine got too painful for physio but inused mine in my job then itvgotvworse with physio take it up to.psin not into pain mine was from.repetative movement heaving lifting it just used to burn then ached become stiff then i got the real pain my physio refused to do anymore it was so painful x
    • FSconversations
      FSconversations valerie06033

      Posted

      Hi Valerie: I started with gentle physio when my arm first having 'twinges' and I still had lots of ROM. Didn't have a clue about FS yet! A few months passed; I was discharged, but something wasn't quite right. The stiffness started & the big pain, so I went to a different physio. That's when I was told what you were told too - that my FS was happening because I wasn't using it "through the pain". I have a very high pain tolerance and was having aggressive physio desperately trying to stop the process of freezing. Then I got reading others' experiences on here & realized I needed to be better informed & then make my own choices. I quit the aggressive physio & took narcotics & aleve/naprosyn. Though I still had pain/sleepless nights, I am convinced for me it was the best decision I could have made & it gave my FS a chance to heal. It was quite a relief to quit the intensive physio. If it happens in my other shoulder, I would know to try anti-inflammatories/cortisone first and to keep using my arm as normally as possible. I recently started MSM just to see if it would make a difference in the last bit of ROM I need to get back. 
    • Je_n
      Je_n karen25221

      Posted

      ROM means Range of Motion aka something we are all jealous of, people with a normal ROM. Lol
    • Je_n
      Je_n valerie06033

      Posted

      Frankly, they have no idea how to treat this condition. One of my specialists told me that flat out. Everyone seems a bit different with FS (Frozen Shoulder), but we all have learned to listen to our bodies. Think we have all learned that the hard way. I know I sure did.
    • karen25221
      karen25221 Je_n

      Posted

      Thry know very little about i was throwing questions at my surgeon about it he says their are links diabetes homones but nothing solid but we dont know much at all he was very good and honest. I like my surgeon hes very nice I thjnk they need tobstartvdoing some research into it as its so painful such limited knowledge
    • Je_n
      Je_n karen25221

      Posted

      That's what makes me wonder about the surgeries... They don't know much about FS, why operate? I don't know, just makes me want to question these doctors who suggest out bodies through something that may not be necessary.
    • karen25221
      karen25221 Je_n

      Posted

      Well thry dont know what causes it but after inflamation you will always end up with scar tissue which clogs up the joint. i had surgery 10 days ago best thing ever,after failed Physio, cortisone injections and hydro dilation and im 90% better than i was ive continued with anti inflammatories start physio Thursday and all is good as planned x still havent driven was told not. I daw the photos of my joint before it wascrammed with scar tissue looked awful when he had finished it was all nice and pink and healthy looking. But its early days so feeling hopeful much more positive stopped wearing a sling at night ive woke up a couple of times because i laid on it and obviously still a vitvstiff from surgery but generally ok
    • beverly52803
      beverly52803 Je_n

      Posted

      1st ortho I went to see said he would operate to cut adhesions. 2nd ortho x-rayed to eliminate other problems, gave me med journal article explaining the 3 stages and highly recommended just letting it thaw on it's own. He said if I had the surgery adhesions would immediatley start to form again which would require painful PT to tear them. That sounded pointless to me so I waited for the thaw.

      Later when my other shoulder started to freeze I had acupuncture and it stopped the process. It came on in a milder form though.

  • FSconversations
    FSconversations Je_n

    Posted

    I went to my regular doc today asking if I need the second cortisone (guided this time) because I no longer have pain, just less Range of Motion, though it's better. He said no at first since I haven't had pain now for some eight weeks, but then said yes after seeing my arm because it might help with getting more ROM - by breaking up the adhesions. This appointment for guided cortisone took three months to get, so I plan to keep it...and pray it helps get that last 1/3 or so of ROM I want back. 

    About MSM, he said try it if I want to, but the studies don't support it well one way or the other. With 'remedies' he suggests trying them for a month, and then stopping. If you feel worse, then you know the remedy was actually helping & you can start it again. If you don't feel any different after stopping, then your body didn't need it and you can save your money.

    About surgery, he knows I'm not in favour, and as long as I'm improving over time, and not plateauing, it's not indicated for me anyway. I like to picture that scar tissue in there sort of dissolving away if I'm nice to it. LOL! I get thick scars on my skin, so plan to avoid surgery which could trigger more scarring inside.

    And about physio, he thought the gentle kind of exercises would be good to do again after the cortisone next week in my FS arm, and if my good arm ever starts to lose any range - it's having twinges. Argh. (He believes we can avoid the freezing; I think I disagree with him there, but I need to keep him on my side because he's helpful.)

    In my experience today! Liane

     

  • valerie06033
    valerie06033 Je_n

    Posted

    Hi Jenn, You said you were relieved when you quit aggressive PT.  Do you think possible if it had been gentle PT--like stretching only to the point of pull not pain you might have felt differently?  Or did you try that too?  And/or did you notice either ultrasound or Elec Stim/ice helping?  Thanks for all your thoughts!
    • karen25221
      karen25221 valerie06033

      Posted

      my physio called it a day on physio because i ended up in tears and had obviously got worse but was told when i had a shower try to move it then i tried it wasntvso bad until in got out

      I slept with a hot water bottle under my shoulder which helped sleep found it more painful in the cold but hot water bottle soothed it alot at night time x still use it now lol

    • Je_n
      Je_n valerie06033

      Posted

      HI Valarie,

      Honestly, I tried everything and the electrical stimulaiton did not work for me personally, gave me debilitating headaches.   Glad it helps some of you here, anything to ease that pain. 

      Valarie, my PT won't even see me again unless I have a letter from my doctor releasing me back into PT, it was that painful. The PT also measured my ROM with a ruler and it was always the same for the entire 3-4 months I was in PT. My Orthopedic specialist suggested doing the very simple exercises at home, but if it hurts STOP or you will make the injury worse. Diabetic FS is a bit different too, the scar tissue is much more dense in some of us I guess too. FS is actually a Diabetic Complication.   No doctor or PT is treating this condition consistantly, and personally, I think that is part of the issue for all of  us, we are all told different things. I’m so glad we can all compare notes on the forum. Not sure where else any of us would find the information on how to muddle through FS. 

       

    • beverly52803
      beverly52803 karen25221

      Posted

      You can also use those buckwheat "pillows" that you heat in the microwave. Less messy than hot water bottle.

Back to top
Prev Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.