Working with frozen shoulder
Posted , 4 users are following.
Does anyone have a sense of whether working versus relative rest had an effect on recovery from frozen shoulder? Thanks.
0 likes, 7 replies
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Notes on Working with frozen shoulder
melissa48549 m.44051
Posted
I have been dealing with two overlapping frozen shoulders. I have worked with a functional physical therapist about every three weeks since symptoms began in the first shoulder about 2 1/2 years ago. I have received no other interventions or medicines. My sense is that the therapy has been helpful in my recovery. Part of the therapy has taught me to include an organic sort of movement of the shoulders in my everyday life. Mobilizing the shoulders at the edge of their range of motion in ongoing and consistent manner seemed to be useful in regaining use of my upper body. The literature seems to indicate that most people experience a fair resolution of the adhesions no matter their course of treatment, but I am hoping to ultimately regain my full measure of strength and ROM.
m.44051 melissa48549
Posted
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your feedback! But I'm wondering if anyone has feedback about continuing to work/do their job and if this seemed to have an effect on length of recovery or severity of symptoms? I've got one frozen shoulder, and the other is starting to freeze. Thanks again!
cindy_45475 m.44051
Posted
hi I continued to work through both of my frozen shoulders. The first one was excruciating pain wise. I would come home every evening; lay on the settle and cry. I tried everything to ease the pain. physio (made it worse); cortisone injection; heat, TENS machine; massage therapy; strong pain killers; spiritual healer, I tried them all and i learnt that it is a condition that will go through its stages, these cannot be altered or sped up (in my opinion). with my second FS i was more relaxed about it ( it still hurt a lot, but i knew what to expect ; i knew there was an end to the pain. I managed with the heat pad and tens machine and vitamin b/d and magnesium and turmeric capsules. FS is an awful debilitating condition, I found from this site that everyone is individual and unique and we all deal with this condition the best way we can.
I hope you get through this as quickly as possible.
jackieblue m.44051
Posted
hello, I sort of touched on this subject in replying to your comment on my thread earlier. But to be more explicit, I am a nurse and typically do direct patient care, but with both shoulders now firmly in stage two, I have been unable to work since January. And yes, the less I do, the better I feel (in terms of my shoulders, anyway).
I have no ability for external rotation at all in either shoulder. I am able to lift both arms straight out in front of me to about 100°, and to the sides, about 70° . I am just able to dress myself, depending on what I wear. I can just barely wash my hair and brush it, but I can’t put it into a ponytail. these small activities of self-care plus some very light housekeeping are about all I can do without making the pain return and range of motion shrink. i’ve finally stopped trying to push myself, and have been pleasantly surprised to find that my range of motion has not deteriorated any further.
m.44051 jackieblue
Posted
Hi Jackieblue,
Thanks so much for your response. It is helpful and validating to hear that others are experiencing the same thing with respect to rest vs exercise/activity. Feel better!
Hoosier m.44051
Posted
m.44051 -
If you put 10 FS doctors in a room together, they'll come out with 12 different opinions as to how to treat it. There are plenty of success stories that followed very different paths. But, just like the old joke about the length of the common cold (untreated, it will last about a week, treated and it will last about 7 days), the same goes for FS. I am in the "leave it alone" camp, since that worked for me for my first FS.
The good news is that we can do a lot of research ourselves and make informed, individualized decisions for our own treatment. Sadly, we have plenty of time to think about options. If you google "My Frozen Shoulder Story", there's a great example of a gal who opted to leave it alone with success. However, if you google "My Frozen Story Blog" it's a perfect example of someone who is aggressively doing PT with equal success.
Note, however, the timelines are about the same.
The bottom line is, since it doesn't matter what you do, you do what you feel is best, and we won't judge either way, since no one knows anyway. (Just don't go too aggressive, since there is evidence you can aggravate it worse)
m.44051
Posted
Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, it is very helpful. I have an active job, but am going to try going back on restricted duty. Best wishes to everyone!