Type 2 Frozen shoulder

jaywak said:

How long did it take you to see the benefits ? at the moment i'me just getting on a stepladder when I visit the garage and hanging from a joist only 2 - 3 times a day for only 10 secs at a time because it is painful and I do hear some clicking from my shoulder but after only 2 days and I hope i'me not imagining it but it does seem to be improving .

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At first I could only do a second and it was pure agony but doing it everyday was the key. Maybe a week later I could do 2 seconds and it builds from there. If you can do 10 seconds I’d say you are on the right track . The joist must be tough though ? I used a company called https://www.themetalstore.co.uk/?url=https://www.themetalstore.co.uk.

Anyhow best thoughts - let us know how you get on

Peduk said:

Hi
My doctor said because I am type2 with insulin and my age :66: can cause this
The pain is relentless just wonders if any one experienced this.
Hope I posted in right place,
Thank you

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Last year, I had a first-floor fall in my bungalow while decorating. (If you don't care to ponder that one, it's because my kitchen extends up into the roof, making it as high as a two-story house). Anyway, after attending ER to get my dislocated shoulder fixed, a follow-up with a physiotherapist quickly identified my lack of range of movement was in fact down to a frozen shoulder. Furthermore, more questions elicited the fact I'd had it for over twenty years, as my right arm always flayed out at an angle when I did the backstroke and I hadn't been able to reach up to the middle of my back to scratch an itch for years. That was before I was diagnosed with diabetes. The truth appears to be that a frozen shoulder is common and inexplicable. Another truth is that it can be improved after about six months of physiotherapy or between 18 months to 3 years if left untreated. I found I only needed three sessions with the physiotherapist before he decided I needed no further help and about six months after that, I had quite forgotten I had had that experience. Full disclosure, I'm a moderately fit 60-year-old. So, at the risk of contradicting your doctor, I would surmise that diabetes makes you susceptible to this type of injury but it's not written in stone. As I understand it, high glucose levels can adversely affect the striation in collagen, that fluid that ensures the smooth movement of your joints. That makes us susceptible to things that look similar to arthritic conditions. Frozen shoulder is an example. YouTube is littered with good clips on this but 'Bob & Brad (Most Famous Physical Therapists on the Internet" In our opinion of course!!!)' are my go-to guys on all this stuff.

Some of the methods people have been using are very similar to the ones in this video - BESS is the British Elbow & Shoulder Society:

Westley said:

Same for me @OrsonKartt
During the first Covid lockdowns I went from lifting weights most days to sitting all the time, and developed a frozen shoulder during this period. I suspect the inactivity was a factor.
I had a cortisone/hydrodilatation injection which significantly reduced the symptoms for a couple of months, though it near doubled my insulin requirements for a while, and the relief was temporary.
What really fixed it was getting back in the gym, and doing lots of dead hangs (gripping a pull up bar and supporting your weight off the ground with straight arms. Most gyms also have assisted pull up machines for if you can't hold your full weight). At first I could just manage overhand grip, then neutral and eventually underhand.
In the earlier stages stretching after hot showers helped too.
Now I'm back to pull ups, chin ups, overhead pressing, even overhead squats without any problems or pain. My internal rotation on the affected shoulder is still a few degrees less, but I continue to work on it.

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Hello, do you mind me asking if you wear a Libre sensor and if so was this on the same arm as you had the steroid injection? I'm due to have steroid injection next week but currently have my sensor on same arm as my pain \ stiffness \ frozen shoulder. Just a bit concerned it might affect my readings! TIA

I do wear a Libre. I'm sorry I don't remember whether it was on the affected side at the time of the injection.
It seems unlikely to me that would matter though as the injection is all the way into the joint capsule, not really affecting the skin or muscle.
My insulin requirements did go up significantly for quite a while after the injection, which is normal.

If I was in that situation again, one thing I'd do differently is be more consistent with exercises during the months after the injection.
It stopped most of the pain and gave back some movement but when it wore off I lost some of those movement gains again, and it was only much later when I got back in the gym regularly that I got full ROM back to the point of eg being able to touch the middle of my upper back.
My guess is that if I'd taken more advantage of the injection and gently pushed the end ranges daily, I might have reached this point sooner, but as I was not in pain and had enough movement for normal daily tasks I did forget sometimes to keep stretching.

gkilpatrick95 said:

Hello, do you mind me asking if you wear a Libre sensor and if so was this on the same arm as you had the steroid injection? I'm due to have steroid injection next week but currently have my sensor on same arm as my pain \ stiffness \ frozen shoulder. Just a bit concerned it might affect my readings! TIA

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I have not had a steroid injection but avoided having covid and flu jabs in my "Libre arm" because I found it affected my readings for about 24 hours afterwards.
My expectation would be something similar for a steroid injection.

OrsonKartt said:

At first I could only do a second and it was pure agony but doing it everyday was the key. Maybe a week later I could do 2 seconds and it builds from there. If you can do 10 seconds I’d say you are on the right track . The joist must be tough though ? I used a company called https://www.themetalstore.co.uk/?url=https://www.themetalstore.co.uk.

Anyhow best thoughts - let us know how you get on

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I stopped doing the hangs a few days ago after a lot of clicking from my shoulder and today for the first time for months I can lift my arm above my head , it's still painful but i'me sure it's better than it was .

Peduk said:

Hi
My doctor said because I am type2 with insulin and my age :66: can cause this
The pain is relentless just wonders if any one experienced this.
Hope I posted in right place,
Thank you

Click to expand...

Hello there,
I suffer from type 2 diabetes since 2002. I am 53 and for the last three years I have had the worst frozen shoulders pain and discomfort. I have had steroid injections in both shoulders but no improvements. It has been said that it is more present with the diabetic patients. Not sure but swimming has helped me a bit.