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Frozen Shoulder Therapies

spendercat

spendercat

Well-Known Member
Messages
277
Location
City of Lincoln
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Cruelty. I am kind.
I am told this is so common among diabetics some experts consider it a complication of diabetes!

I first got this eight years ago, first one side, then the other. Anyone who has suffered from this knows it is almost unbearably painful, especially at night. It has recently recurred (6 months after T2 diagnosis)

Since so many of us suffer from this I thought it would be a good idea for sufferers to report any therapies they had tried, and how successful, or not, they found them. So here's my list:

1. Painkillers - do not really work for me, even the doc's super strong ones just make me feel weird.

2. Acupuncture - Did not work well. although it had worked well for other types of pain

3. Osteopathic massage - well it hurt, but I would have to say it helped enormously after the first 36 hours of feeling like I had been beaten up

4. TENs machine from the chemist - staggeringly effective. Cant believe how fast it cleared the pain. All the way down to tolerable.

5. Pills from chinese herbalist. (Xinhuang Pian) Not sure I should recommend these as I dont really know what is in them. Not to mention you cant get out of those places without spending a fortune. But they are a very effective painkiller for any kind of rheumatic pain.

Okay that is my list. Obviously people differ in how they respond to therapies. Anybody else got any good treatments to suggest?
 
I saw an Osteopath who was also a Reike Master, and something of a healer. 30 minutes with him, almost pain free treatment and completely cured! It was years ago. He also fixed slipped discs on another occasion for me, and prevented my son from some threatened surgery for Tennis elbow. Don't know how he is with Diabetes, maybe I'll go and see!
 
My wife had true frozen shoulder for several years. She eventually saw a good consultant who said that for true frozen shoulder (adhesive encapsulitis) there is no treatment available other than pain relief; so avoid 'snake-oil' remedies. He prescribed Amytriptiline which is most often used as an anti-depressant but in very low doses it makes an excellent pain killer. It worked wonders for her where the TENS machine and co-codamol etc only partially relieved the pain. Note that he said cortisone injections have no effect on true frozen shoulder and said if it works it isn't frozen shoulder you have but one of the many other shoulder problems. I've never heard of it being linked to diabetes but perhaps it is?
 
It is linked with diabetes, thyroid, parkinson's, heart disease and other conditions. I would assume that determining which, if any of those conditions, may be behind the frozen shoulder is equally as important as treating the pain.

Regards

Doug
 
Jenfy said:
I saw an Osteopath who was also a Reike Master, and something of a healer. 30 minutes with him, almost pain free treatment and completely cured! It was years ago. He also fixed slipped discs on another occasion for me, and prevented my son from some threatened surgery for Tennis elbow. Don't know how he is with Diabetes, maybe I'll go and see!
Click to expand...
Mine was definitely diagnosed as "true" frozen shoulder and it was cured, but he was a marvelous healer!
 
For anyone unsure about Frozen Shoulder there is a good explanation here.

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Frozen-Shoulder.htm

When I had mine, it was agony. I had difficulty doing everyday tasks like bathing, washing my hair, dressing, driving, hoovering, cooking etc. It seemed worse at night and used to keep me awake despite strong pain killers. The pain radiated all down my arm and movement was limited. I had to adapt and make sure I put the bad arm in sleeves first and took it out last. Simple things became a nightmare because of the pain that ensued. I used to pull my seat belt with the other arm to fasten it and, when reversing in the car, had to go through the pain barrier.

I tried the steroid injections but they did not do anything. Physio helped but did not cure it. I was given acupuncture on the NHS and, like the physio, this helped but the pain returned with a vengeance.
I was going to have surgery but was advised against it by the Orthopaedic Surgeon as he could not guarantee that it would work. Assured me it would eventually get better.

He also said that 1 in 5 of the patients that he sees are diabetics with varying degrees of control.

As described in the above article, there are three stages and it does gradually get better.

Mine took over two and a half years and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. There is one poster here that has it in both shoulders and I cannot begin to imagine how this must feel on a day to day basis. I was getting frustrated and depressed with one shoulder affected.
 
Not true frozen shoulder? Mine was diagnosed by the doctor, both times. Boy, do I recognise Catherinecherubs description! Believing that the only help available is pain killers is just a counsel of despair. The level of control does not affect this condition. Just being diabetic seems to increase the risk. Perhaps it is a body-type problem. Like being more flexible than average.

Has anyone else noticed that when you fix a health problem through non-conventional means the doctor always says that you did not have it un the first place? I had a friend who was seizing up with arthritis, who brought it under control with an exclusion diet. The next time he saw his doctor he said "oh, yes. You're the one who thought he had arthriis". This despite the specialist who had diagnosed it, and explained regrettfully that he would soon be crippled.

Could someone explain what Reike is?
 
Hi, I was exactly same as catherine cherub in agony till the cortisone injection and then got my life back!
Brilliant post CC there... it totally mirrors my story!
Reike is a hands on body heat treatment, feels like deep heat from the hands going into the trauma area.
Sadly it didnt work for me, I needed stronger treatment via cortisone.
Different things work for the individual.
Anna.x :D
 
Hi, I have been suffering a left shoulder and high upper arm area pain, which just crept up on me a couple of years ago. I thought it was just the way I had been sleeping at first. Been to the doc and was sent for physio, which I still use. I am not to bad some days but, then again I get days when I can hardly get by jacket on. What is it about T2 that causes this effect? Is it the condition or is the drugs, I am on Metformin and Glicacide.
 
As I said above, it is not only linked with diabetes. For a number of people the first indication of Parkinson's Disease is a frozen shoulder. It is dangerous for people with diabetes to assume that everything that goes wrong with them is a result of diabetes - although that is commonly done.

Regards

Doug
 
wellwell1212 said:
Hi, I have been suffering a left shoulder and high upper arm area pain, which just crept up on me a couple of years ago. I thought it was just the way I had been sleeping at first. Been to the doc and was sent for physio, which I still use. I am not to bad some days but, then again I get days when I can hardly get by jacket on. What is it about T2 that causes this effect? Is it the condition or is the drugs, I am on Metformin and Glicacide.
Click to expand...

Hi,
It can strike anyone regardless of chronic and acute conditions. If you read the link I posted earlier in the thread you will get a better understanding of it.

My answer to your query would be that it is neither the condition or the drugs you are taking.
My sympathies are with you.

CC.
 
I myself have had treatment for frozen shoulder via cortisone injections for both my shoulders. Prier to the this treatment I found it next to impossible to pull my trousers up or wipe my butt. I have been in a couple of car accidents in my life. I paralyzed my right arm due to tearing nerves in my shoulder (biracial plexus) when I was sleeping on the back seat of a car. and the driver also fell asleep and we rolled nose over tail. Thankfully after around the nine month mark I started to get use back starting at the fingers. When my shoulders started playing up and they hurt slowly I lost a lot more than range of movement in my shoulders. I started to notice it when I was getting sore throwing balls for dog. AS time went on I found with my balance and pain of moving arms I slowly became more inactive. I went to a orthopedic surgeon to who I stated my case he asked a couple of questions and promptly turned my hands over and looked at my palms. No not for hair. Ha Ha. There on the palm of my hand was what looked like the tendons pulling on both hands to the ring finger. He said I had a classic case of double D. To which I only remember ! of the D's stand for diabetes. Apparently this is a sign for frozen shoulder. I got my injections and life has been getting better every day since. I can move altogether differently than before, get the seat belt, open windows. Shoulders are again starting to hurt after 3 months but I can still use them like new. Everything about movement to me has become easier arms, back, neck and if I feel I'm going to fall I can put my arms out to steady myself.
Ha Ha life is not what it used to be Thankfully. Isn't it great when simple things can mean so much.
Regards Vaughan

:shock: Ha I went to a neurosurgeon as part of Investigating why I had such weak legs and he sent me for a MRI. It appears that I haven't been imagining my back and neck pain for the past 25 years. It was put down to migraines and my dull leg to neuropathy. It seems that when I received my brachial plexus injury that I also fractured 2 vertebrae and crushed 3 discs. Their not saying it's all down to this but it definitely won't be helping. It's healed well so I got to be thankful for that maybe I didn't complain enough.
:D Still feeling better than 7 years back. Took my 2 dogs for a walk the other day first time in at least 4 years 1 is Pit bull, Bull Terrier x other Red Nose Pit bull, Ridge back x. They to big I'll do 1 at a time in future. Life is good let's share it with others.
:? Funny this news doesn't bother me that it was missed.
My thoughts are with you all.
Vaughan
 
I had an initial diagnosis of frozen shoulder but once with the physio once a week it started to improve over 4 weeks then found it was from the joint going into spasm because one of the shoulder tendons was torn - no idea how, I had just woken up with no movment and no pain and no idea what I had done before to cause it. That was 2.5 years ago. Then diagnosed T2 7 months ago. The developed tennis elbow in May that just will not go - physio great but nothing working, may have to resort to the steriods.

Never made the link between tendon injuries and diabetes so thanks for this thread everyone, just thought O was slowly falling apart!
 
After having a frozen shoulder for nine months and having had god knows how many pain killers and two lots of cortizone injections, physio none of which helped by the end i couldnt even pull my own knickers up and had to rely on my teenage son to help me get dressed in the mornings, i had surgery last september and im so happy i did, it took a couple of months after surgery to get anything like back to normal but i can now say im 100% better, the pain of frozen shoulder was the worst pain id ever experianced at times i wanted to die as nothing helped the pain,

Sue
 
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