Frozen shoulder

[Jordi77]

I was at physiotherapy today and found out that diabetics are prone the most from them and I just wanted to pass it on to the forum so that you know that you heard about it first on here and that it is painful as hell as the slightest movement is not good but I'm on strong pain relief for it so I only feel it when it wears off . The physio also said it takes around 24 months to heal so that is going to be hell but with the pain relief it will go fast.

 

[hankjam]

There are quite a few frozen shoulders round here...

Wish you luck with the pain relief. I'm just going through my second one, left shoulder this time. The first was undiagnosed for months and all I had was pain relief, which made me really solid in the stool department.
Second time round my first physio was hopeless but now the second one is just the tops... and although she puts my arm into places I really don't want it go I know it should... and the pain then can be something else... but it is only for 10 to 30 seconds.. and the response is impressive... managed some crawl/freestyle swimming this week for the first time in months.
It took about 12 months for my first one to get back to something like "normal".
Wish you well.

 

[Daibell]

My wife was put onto amitriptyline for pain relief which worked well.

 

[Jordi77]

I'm on amitrypiline and Tramadol and it's still painful and physio seams not to work as had a X ray and a ultrasound on it and they are saying that I might have a trapped nerve as well but that is fun and joy

 

[hankjam]

I'm on amitrypiline and Tramadol and it's still painful and physio seams not to work as had a X ray and a ultrasound on it and they are saying that I might have a trapped nerve as well but that is fun and joy

Sorry to hear that.
Did you "do" anything that may have triggered it. For both of mine I simply can't and am always asked.
I had a a X-ray, which showed nothing amiss and it was a challenge to get the angle right and still for long enough...
Hope it is just physio and ultra sound, don't really fancy the escalations to injections.
Good luck

 

[Mep]

I'm wondering what is the deal with my right shoulder in the last few weeks. I'm not sure I have a frozen shoulder though as I can still move it. It just hurts and all the muscles around it ache. I have been using heat packs and voltaren gel on it. I haven't gone to my doc about it as fed up with visiting docs at the moment. I'm going to have to see my doc though in about a week or so to get more scripts so may ask him then. More than likely I'll get told I should get physio. Whatever it is, it's hasn't gone away and I don't recall any injury to it. It could be from using the mouse at work maybe... not sure. I'm already on 25mg amitriptyline and 25mg of baclofen for other things so those 2 drugs could be masking it a bit maybe.

I hope your shoulder heals up quicker than 24 months I'm sure the physio would help.

 

[debrasue]

That's interesting, Jordie - I'd never heard before the link between diabetes and frozen shoulder, but it makes a lot of sense when you consider the number of people on the forum who have suffered from it.
My right shoulder was affected about 2 years ago but is now more or less OK, although there is a degree of weakness there (probably due to limited movement for 2 years!) which I imagine will improve with exercise. My left shoulder has been affected for the past 8 or 9 months and unfortunately I have now ruptured my biceps tendon in that shoulder too, so it's probably not going to get much better. Physiotherapy has not made much difference and I am definitely NOT going down the route of injections!
I wonder why the link with diabetes arises, though?

 

[Brunneria]

My husband (non-diabetic) had his frozen shoulder 90% cured by a single appt with a chiropractor at a cost of £45. The reamining 10% would have cleared up rapidly if he had bothered to do his exercises!!!

Most docs seem totally unaware of how excellent, helpful and rapid chiropractic treatments can be, and fail to recommend them.

 

[Mep]

My husband (non-diabetic) had his frozen shoulder 90% cured by a single appt with a chiropractor at a cost of £45. The reamining 10% would have cleared up rapidly if he had bothered to do his exercises!!!

Most docs seem totally unaware of how excellent, helpful and rapid chiropractic treatments can be, and fail to recommend them.

Yeh I have a chiropractor in my family. He's a busy man. They help a lot of people with things... definitely with shoulders too. Funnily enough he hasn't a clue how to help me... although interested all the time about things. I've had chiropractic treatment previously, just not by my family member. I'm glad to hear your hubby got good help from it.

 

[Jordi77]

No I never done anything to it to start it off it just happened about 1 and 1/2 years ago just I was a bit stubborn to get it sorted out before now as I just woke up one day and my shoulder was a bit sore to touch and to move but I thought nothing more of it and the pain got to much over the winter with all the rain and cold weather conditions so I went and saw the doctor and what they can do to help but I do know that some times that physio doesn't work as I have proof of that but I have to give it a go anyway which ever happens to it

 

[Robinredbreast]

I have two frozen shoulders. First the right (about 2002/3) and my GP gave me a cortisone injection ( but never again though) and physio, which helped tremendously. Also, in the left shoulder too, but I find it's best to keep using them as much as possible and I do stretches every morning.
Best thing for me is, 'use it or lose it'.

 

[hankjam]

Agree with @Robinredbreast about the physio, I would exhaust that option before going anywhere else. As I'm still recovering I do three stretching sessions a day and they really do help.

 

[Mep]

that's what I'm doing a lot of too... stretching. I think it helps too. But still hasn't gone away at the moment.

 

[Robinredbreast]

that's what I'm doing a lot of too... stretching. I think it helps too. But still hasn't gone away at the moment.

I still have mine, but it is manageable, I do have some pain in the right shoulder, also, underneath the right shoulder blade too and when it is bad, GP prescribed co-codamol 15/500.
whether the frozen shoulders will ever go, after all these years is questionable, but I will keep using them as much as possible.

 

[hankjam]

My test of how good it is is to lie on my back and see how far I can move my straight arm to touch the floor behind my head..
at the moment I think I have another 6-8 inches to go....
Other exercises include:
Towel behind the back with frozen arm/hand at the bottom getting pulled up by the good arm.....
Lying on back, arms bent at elbow holding stick, pull and push laterally with good arm making bad arm stretch.....
variation on lateral, resistance band on door handle, book held by bent elbow, standing 90° to door, pull forearm to side..
Face wall, move hands up as far as they will go and then out to the sides.
Slowly but surely..

 

[amgrundy]

I was at physiotherapy today and found out that diabetics are prone the most from them and I just wanted to pass it on to the forum so that you know that you heard about it first on here and that it is painful as hell as the slightest movement is not good but I'm on strong pain relief for it so I only feel it when it wears off . The physio also said it takes around 24 months to heal so that is going to be hell but with the pain relief it will go fast.

Hi Jordi77, I know the feeling I am suffering with a frozen shoulder at the moment this is my 7th week with it. had 1 session of physio he gave me a couple of movements to do, its always worse at night can not get any sleep don't know which way to lie to get comfortable. Using paracetamol and ibruprofen gel.

 

[amgrundy]

I'm on amitrypiline and Tramadol and it's still painful and physio seams not to work as had a X ray and a ultrasound on it and they are saying that I might have a trapped nerve as well but that is fun and joy

Wondering if I have trapped a nerve it radiates down my arm into my shoulder and across my neck sometimes. Hope next set of phyio helps driving me crazy.

 

[Mep]

Wondering if I have trapped a nerve it radiates down my arm into my shoulder and across my neck sometimes. Hope next set of phyio helps driving me crazy.

hmm maybe that's my problem... mine radiates down my arm and up my neck when really bad. It feels like nerve pain too.

 

[amgrundy]

I'm wondering what is the deal with my right shoulder in the last few weeks. I'm not sure I have a frozen shoulder though as I can still move it. It just hurts and all the muscles around it ache. I have been using heat packs and voltaren gel on it. I haven't gone to my doc about it as fed up with visiting docs at the moment. I'm going to have to see my doc though in about a week or so to get more scripts so may ask him then. More than likely I'll get told I should get physio. Whatever it is, it's hasn't gone away and I don't recall any injury to it. It could be from using the mouse at work maybe... not sure. I'm already on 25mg amitriptyline and 25mg of baclofen for other things so those 2 drugs could be masking it a bit maybe.

I hope your shoulder heals up quicker than 24 months I'm sure the physio would help.

Sounds exactly like me. It was 4 weeks till I plucked up courage to go to doc he sent me for physio.

 

[Jordi77]

I know that feeling as they have checked my reflexes in both arms I have it in the right arm but not in the left side as that is where my frozen shoulder is and at the moment I am trying to stretch it out like what the physio has told me but that doesn't seem to work either