Sorry you are dealing with this. I too have had idiopathic frozen shoulder in both arms over the course the past 5 years. Each time, it seemed like just as I was ready to submit to surgery (primarily to release the adhesions, there was nothing else wrong), it resolved. Resolved with PT 3x a week for as long as the insurance would cover it and cortisone shots x2. I will say that although I got some relief from the initial cortisone shots, subsequent injections did nothing. I credit my PT for getting me through it. I’d say I have 95% range of motion on the right side (dominant arm) and about 85% on the left. It did take more than the arm bike and walking the wall, however. E-stim, ultrasound, weight and band work all contributed to my recovery. I hate to say it, but it sucks and there’s little but time and hard work that seems to work for recovery. If I were you, I’d get a prescription for PT ASAP and get started.
@runnersmom said:
Like I said in previous post, the cortisone shot really hurt like a ****** ******, but it was worth it. It helped me immediately, and enabled me to endure the stretch exercises. Wish I had the shot months earlier. Right before the doctor administered the shot, the nurse braced me to squeeze her hand as hard as I wanted, because she said she had another hand in case I broke it…
Family members were similarly unsympathetic(no grape peeling) because they could not relate to the bizzareness of the malady.
Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I’d better get that PT prescription. Typing on CC is somewhat painless, but I do have other things to do, so I am eager to regain my left arm!
Yes, many relatives have had frozen shoulder. Most have had the cortisone shot and PT. Without the PT, recovery can take a very long time. All that had PT said it really helped, as long as they had a good therapist and worked at it. Not all PTs are created equal. Good luck!
AS more detail, if the situation is new, you may have a lot of inflammation. (Which can be seen with ultrasound.) If so, you need to wait a little while for that to cool - and NSAIDs work. Then it’s just a case of realizing what you have: a bunch of ligaments that have adhered and the process for fixing them is to stretch them so they release. I found that waiting and bits of work just wasn’t enough.
I started by lying on my back with my hand wedged under a dumbbell so it was pinned but not locked in place. I then tried to move around, trying to extend my arm to the side and over my head. What I found is something quite odd: as compensation for and maybe as part of the freezing process, I had developed tight areas lower in my body, mostly along the back side of that arm. I found these and stretched them and my shoulder started to move. Some things were painful, like when I’d try to push my arm flat against the floor with my hand pinned and I’d find almost a ridge of tension across that entire side reaching down to my waist. But it worked: broke the adhesions and things shifted so fast I couldn’t believe it.
I then switched to using those thick, not thin resistance bands at the gym and found that tensioning my arms and shoulders released all sorts of areas that hurt for many, many years. I now have complete motion even with a torn cuff issue that will never completely heal. Example: I put one arm up and the other down (with the band behind me so it won’t pop up and hit my head) and pushing up and down at the same time has essentially eliminated long standing pain when I raise my arm straight up.
As an addition, I’ve found similar things with my rigid toe that needs surgery. I developed a gait to compensate and that caused other problems - knee, hamstring, etc. - and those have been helped dramatically by increasing flexibility in my feet and ankles. This also hurts to do but as my foot has regained flexibility my life has improved and my toe isn’t causing me nearly as much pain. It has also helped me with the arthritic neuromas that sometimes made my feet feel like live wires were inserted in them.
I also recommend yoga once your shoulder starts to move.
I had my first frozen shoulder for about 1 1/2 years. Got an MRI, cortisone shot, tried Rolphing, worked with exercise bands and daily stretching. Nothing helped. Magically one day, it seemed to disappear in one shoulder and … pass to the other. I spent another 1 1/2 years with no results. Along the way, I got advice from a Chinese Medicine practitioner who had the advice which in the end was accurate. He said, “It is like wind. One day it will pass.” In essence, it was like a virus and had to run it’s course. I felt really old for a few years. Couldn’t throw a ball with the kids, etc. The good news is that it is finally gone and both shoulders feel normal. I still can’t throw a ball like Sandy Kofax (which dates me), but I never could to begin with.
Thanks, @rmsdad. I can still thrown like Sandy Koufax with my right arm, thank goodness, because that’s a skill a middle age mom needs.
Thanks @Lergnom, for the detail! Since I have been doing zero stretching due to the pain and assuming what my shoulder needed was rest, I am starting out slowly using the exercises the doctor gave me yesterday. I will try yours as well, and next week I’ll look into PT. Right now, after doing some light stretching from the doctor hand-out, my triceps is hurting. Hmmm… perhaps that’s one of those tight areas you mentioned. Intriguing!
I’ve had frozen shoulder twice. Each time I eventually got a cortisone shot and PT. Whereas some PT may have helped, I swear both times it made things (pain, trouble sleeping) worse. PT was torture, really torture, and I was really afraid that I would deliberately kick the therapist, it hurt so much, plus I feared he would actually break my arm. When I stopped PT, continued to stretch gently on my own, the condition got better. Almost back to normal but it’s been almost 2 years.
I agree with earlier posters…All PT’s are not the same so do not feel embarrassed to request a change. I have never had a frozen shoulder,but I had a pinched nerve in my neck that lasted for 4 months and for me my bag of frozen corn became my best friend! I made the mistake of not liking the PT assigned to me so I just quit going. I learned the hard way that avoiding movement was the worst thing I could have done and it greatly delayed my recovery.
I don’t know how you all tolerated pain for 3 years. 4 months just about sent me over the edge.
@jasmom, did you get it twice in the same shoulder? I’ve read that people may get it once in each shoulder, but rarely twice in the same shoulder.
@Kajon, pinched nerves are the worst.
I’ve had it in both shoulders. PT helped the first time but I went twice a week for over a year. PT made it much worse the second time. Acupuncture was helpful that time. It was also discovered that I had a rib out of place and it was preventing my normal arm motion and causing inflammation. Getting that adjusted ( chiropractic) was a huge help. I don’t have full range of motion but I no longer have pain.
I had a repetitive motion rotator cuff injury with chronic pain that I stupidly ignored for about 2 years. I tried to tough it out (I had natural childbirth, too, so I thought I could handle a little shoulder pain lol) and decided one day to baby the arm to see if not using it for a few days would help it heal. BIG MISTAKE. I ended up with frozen shoulder and it was excruciating pain. Mundane tasks like fastening my bra became impossible. I felt depressed b/c I couldn’t imagine ever regaining full use of my arm again. I finally went to the orthopedist who treated me with a cortisone shot. I immediately began PT which I continued for about 6 weeks. I am happy to report that my shoulder is now 99% back to normal with full range of motion. I would recommend a course of PT because that is ultimately what I feel helped me regain full function. I am sharing my story to give you some hope that you too can heal. Feel better soon 
I’ve had it twice, once in each shoulder about 6 years apart. The first time, a cortisone shot was a miracle. Second time, it did nothing.
It’s hit and miss but in addition to PT,which helped me more with one shoulder than the another, here are a few things that sometimes help:
Acupuncture. It’s usually not covered by insurance so I only did it once a week with PT as well. It helped to calm me down. Like a lot of things, frozen shoulder is worse when you are tense. Accupuncture helped to relieve the tension. For some people it’s a miracle cure. I’d try it at least 3 times to decide if you’re one of the people it can help.
Sauna. I found this not only helped with the pain, but after some time in the sauna I could stretch my arm further with less pain.
Swimming, especially the breast stroke. The first time, I had it too badly to be able to swim at all in the beginning, but after a while I could. This hurts, but less than PT for me and I found it worked better.
With PT, if you aren’t taking any other drugs, take ibuprofen about 45 minutes before the session so it won’t hurt as much.
It is SO frustrating and so painful. Print out wikipedia and give it to your family so they’ll get some idea of what you’re up against. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesive_capsulitis_of_shoulder
Barfly, it was the adhesions that needed breaking up that were helped by the PT. I lucked out getting a shoulder person right from the start; she started with small movements and a lot of hands on work and we moved on to pulleys and resistance bands.
I remember calling the Dr a week after the cortisone shot asking if it was still supposed to be hurting. That’s when I started PT.
That stick exercise is one I still do.
I’m a big “Pearls” fan. IRL, I’m really more Rat than Zeeba, but #2D loves the Zeebas.
Over a 20 year period, I have had impingement syndrome in my right shoulder, a partially frozen left shoulder, and most recently, a “sore” right shoulder. All 3 felt the same to me. For the most recent, I was given a cortisone shot which didn’t work-- the dr. said he had two locations to try and he picked the wrong one. Then I went to physical therapy for two months. Sessions always started with a heat pack and my therapist suggested doing my home exercises in the shower. Now, a year later I still stretch in the shower and I refuse to shovel SNOW! I think when my arms got tired from shoveling, I limited movement and got partial freezing again. The more it hurt, the less that I moved until pushing a reluctant door closed caused major pain, inability to raise my arm above my waist, and a trip to the doctor. Now, I know better. When I feel the minor pain starting, I apply heat and stretch.
Barfly, just got diagnosed last week. Frustrating because I don’t know what I did to start process. I got a cortisone shot and start PT this week. I know, based on some experience with tendonitis, that I will push harder and do it the right way with PT instead of on my own. PA told me cortisone was optional, but said that it help with pain and it you weren’t hurting the PT was more effective. Good luck to you.
Here’s the old thread: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/699530-frozen-shoulder.html I did PT for months. At the end when I stopped making the progress they wanted, the PT recommended surgery. I had read enough to believe that my shoulder would come back with just PT so I continued working on my own from home. By that time I was pain free and I felt optimistic. Within about a year I was just about back to normal.
I had a "frozen"left shoulder last year. I did three months of PT, including deep massage, ice and stimulation. PT was painful, but I got my range of motion almost completely back. It doesn’t hurt any more. I can’t imagine why your Dr didn’t recommend PT, as my Orthopedic surgeon sent me there straight away. It is also common to get frozen shoulder in the other shoulder after getting it in one.! I noticed my right beginning to show signs, and have tried to keep it at bay by exercising and stretching the arm. So far, it’s working. If it appears to deteriorate, I think I’ll try accupuncture to encourage it to self-heal. My husband has been doing this for his shoulder and is having remarkable results.
Only slightly off topic, but I’ve also found certain yoga based stretches have really helped with two other problems: elbow tendonitis and cubital tunnel syndrome. The latter, if you don’t know, is compression of the ulnar nerve and you feel it as tingling in the outer fingers. One of the best therapies I discovered by accident is a stretch from child’s position - look it up - where you reach your hands out and walk them to one side and reach until you can feel it all the way up into your little finger. It can really hurt but it’s done wonders.
I can see why quack systems of medicine evolved. It’s absolutely true that misalignments and adhesions and knots in one part of the body express themselves in other parts. It’s not that many steps to imagine all disease is related to these or that everything depends on some perfect alignment (which doesn’t exist).