recovery time after frozen shoulder manipulation

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It's been 18 months of torture ! Going to have my shoulder manipulated this week . I am thrilled to have found this link . Knowing someone actually understands what I'm going through ! I was in tears reading everyone's situation .this is the most painful and debilitating situation ever ! Would like to.hear some stories on what happens after manipulation , I plan on only taking off work 3 days after . I am a mammographer . I suffer through my 12 hr days ! I am praying I will be on my way to recovery after  4 days !! 

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  • Posted

    I agree with you all - anything to get rid of the pain. It is awful. I have terrible insurance so that is why I was trying to find out if there were any successful candidates that got better (quicker) without the MUA or surgery. both of those procedures would cost me more than I can pay. I will keep working on it and see if it improves .... I have massage scheduled tonight. Good luck everyone.
    • Posted

      Hi Laura: I liked the massage part of PT; hopefully it's beneficial for you too. The timeline for FS sure varies. My experience: Starting April'15 from first occasional twinges to can't-sleep pain was 6 months; can't-sleep pain to frozen was four months; frozen (you know it's frozen when you can sleep on it but can hardly move it) to starting to thaw was 4 months. That was May '16, and I'm still thawing - at 85% ROM. This is with the no-surgery or MUA route. I took narcotics for the worst four freezing months, and cortisone x2 and PT now with thawing. (I quit aggressive PT last fall.) I am thankful that my time with FS has been going relatively quickly, which is what you were asking about. Hoping that for you too! Liane

  • Posted

    I did mine in wed and was back at work Monday. I could have gone sooner but was weekend. I was taking Percocet pretty much around the clock though. For me the second day was the worst ( Friday). And I was using ice packs and hot showers every few hours. By Sunday that was better. I was going for pt everyday for two weeks snd found excercises at home too.

    Now 4 months later I have all my rom back except to reach back like to do my bra.

    • Posted

      Wow that's fantastic to hear, my fingers and toes are crossed that mine will be the same time frame.

  • Posted

    I am VERY excited to have MUA next Tuesday!  I have been suffering for 10 months now and am to the point where if a stranger accidentally bumps into me in a store, I scream like I have been stabbed.  I went undiagnosed for 9 months as supraspinatus tendeniosis.  I did 9 weeks of PT 3 days a week and onlt got worse.  Took one week off to go to Disney World and it was worse than ever.  Got another doctor to diagnose me correctly before Christmas and I am counting down the days until MUA!  Any updates on how the recovery period is after MUA?  I am scheduled to go to PT the next dat 4 days a week to keep it moving.  Will I feel like dong anything else?  I am a stay at home mom and have a 19 yr old son with Down Syndrome and have to care for him and wondered how much this will affect my life!  It doesn't matter, I can't take it anymore!  Bless all of your hearts, this is the most awful pain I have experienced and I have had 2 kids!  Now it is affecting my sleep more than ever!  I am excited they are putting in a pain pump for 5 days, so I am hoping that will help me work through the hard first few days at PT.

  • Posted

    deb49492

    Glad to hear that you are going to get started in a permanent fix for your frozen shoulder. Plan on PT starting right away and doing painful rehabilitation for several weeks to months. The goal is to not allow the newly freed shoulder to re-freeze!

    Take the pain medicine to facilitate good movement. Ice ice ice.

  • Posted

    I had my shoulder surgery on Nov 6, repair the rotator, labrum had a hole in it and had to reattach my bicep with 3 fiber screws. I've had 14 surgeries before, 4 back and neck fusions, stomach surgeries, 4 carpal related etc. This was by far the worse to recover from, 6 weeks in sling not moving at all pain that I really couldn't get relieve from. Sent home with ice machine which was a godsend. No way to sleep more than 30 minutes on and off. Therapy started and 4 weeks into it it was apparent I couldn't move my arm more than waist high by myself. Went back to surgeons and was told" oh you've got adhesions I've got to take you back into the OR and manipulate and go back into 3 places. So had me stop the therapy telling me I'll probably have to have concentrated 5-6 days in a row of it. Oh and when he told me that scheduled me for surgery and it was 6 weeks out!! So here I sit waiting till April 25!! In pIn hoping I can get the use back and rid of the pain!!

    • Posted

      Hi so sorry to hear your story! I to got my adhesive capsulitis from a surgery and they knew right when I went in to start my pt that it was frozen! I'm glad to hear your dr is acting quick! I waited 6 months from my surgery to have the manipulation and capsular release! I thought I was being good to wait it out the six months! But looking back I think I should have done it earlier! The pain I went through for those 6 months is indescribable! I had my manipulation 4 months ago and would say I'm at about 80 percent I did hard pt for the first months then kinda quit! Reading your story takes me back to those 6 months that r finally becoming a distant nightmare! Good luck to you keep it moving after your manipulation it will be worth the month of pain!

    • Posted

      Glad to hear your doing some better. I asked him how much better will it be, he said oh you'll see an instant improvement,im so tired of waiting!!! You never get comfortable with it and wrong move or heck breathing wrong and your in pain.My primary dr put me on Lyrica after I complained about pain still, well that was a disaster.Among other things my legs started swelling up with fluid, so on Lasix for fluid and that's no fun.i have to see if after this procedure if I'm able to use it better, if not I'll have to retire earlier than I want to

  • Posted

    I just had my MUA Friday June 2nd and I am in excruciating pain. The pain right after was worse than the day after I fractured, dislocated and tore my shoulder. I have physical therapy tomorrow but I am really concerned as I cant move it any farther than before unless someone else is forcing it for me.

    I am so frustrated because before this got diagnosed my doctors told me i needed to try harder and push it farther when it literally wouldnt go any farther. I'm so afraid this will be a repeat of that. This hurts so much...

    • Posted

      I had my 2nd surgery on April 25 and did have to start Therapy the next day 3x a week.I wish I could say I was doing great, but I'm not. I can do stuff with my arm as long as its waist level etc. Therapist takes my arm and stretches it if course and it is indeed painful! Once they lift my arm up I can use it some but I cannot use it functually! I realized I couldn't work with it and had to put in for early retirement.I did see a ad to apply for SSDisability and answered a few questions and couple hours later I get a call from attorneys not to far away.Told them situation and said they did not see how I could be turned down. Twice in years past I had called in my Drs advice not to keep working after multiple surgerys, 16 in total now,including 4back surgeries with 3 fusions. Was always asked how long I had been out of work and when I told them 4-5 weeks and back to work was told after they laughed usually call them back when I was out 3 months, had to be out at least that long! Well I couldn't afford that!! Anyway after being told this time the max I might get, along with my monthly pension, it would total near what I was making.so I called SSDI and had 1 1/2 phone interview, more forms and now I wait.. next step will be a physical but when is the question!! Told could be 3-6 months at least. I know a friend who went they it several years ago, suffering from fiber myalgia and called in only few weeks after her interview and was approved in a few weeks! So now I wait, first pension check not till first week in July,I have my follow up today actually with surgeon, wondering what he will say. Know he will take my arm and lift it up and backwards asking can you do this or that?? That's what he did before after 1 st surgery and I said, hell no!!! Then he said it was frozen with adhesions he would go back in and take out and also big chunk of scar tissue, but I had to sit and wait 6 weeks till they got me in to do it!! Would have never had the first surgery!!! I hope you make out better!

  • Posted

    How long is the recovery after Mua? I had mine two days ago and the range of motion is getting less and less again. I had full range while under anesthesia, but not since I have been home. This is so depressing? What can I do to prevent it from freezing again?
    • Posted

      I stopped therapy 2 weeks ago, because I'm allowed40 for each occurrence and also had to retire the end of May. It's not like it should be but finally it's where I can live with it and just by doing what I can I think it will slowly improve more. Never had a MUA on my shoulder. Both were surgerys with nerve blocks before the operation. I've had 6 series of MUA' s on my lower back and think they are terrific! Usual one Thursday, Friday then back the next Friday. Short time under Anesthesia with great results! Anything you can do to keep the shoulder in motion helps I believe, but it's a really slow process!! I've had 16 total surgerys, fusions, gastric sleeve, part of intestine removed etc, by far these shoulders surgerys are the worse! I hope you get some more improvements each day and hang in there!

    • Posted

      Watch the video by Reuben gobezie! I had the surgery and watched this video and had someone move my arm to those 3 positions 20 times every hour even through the night it was torture but it worked ! I am convinced it would have refrozen if I would have just forced myself to do this
    • Posted

      I know it's painful and therapy moves it little more each time and direction always shaking it out or letting it rest in between. But in long run you'll see it helps! Do not want to do it again ever. I was getting shots in it for the trar until he said you ripped your bicep off and had to screw it back on. Some seem to come thru it better, I know I sure as heck didn't!!

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