Three and a half years since I first posted my story, I am seeing more interest and a lot of confirmation that others have been having the same experience as me. I think a quick update will be helpful.
My left, previously frozen, shoulder is completely recovered, and has better range of motion than my right shoulder. I am right-handed, and my right shoulder probably has some damage from many years of tennis, but both sides have excellent range and no limitations whatsoever.
What is Frozen Shoulder? It's not scar tissue, it's much more like a scab. If you keep picking at a scab, it doesn't heal. It's as simple as that!
I know it can be difficult to say no to physiotherapy, because in our culture we always want to "do something." But if you keep thinking "scab not scar," the way will become clear.
Please read on for the whole story, and have a look at the many helpful comments too. Be well!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
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I have not one but TWO frozen shoulders! It is crazy! I really appreciate what I read here - my frozen shoulders hit me in Oct. 2012 - I would love to think both could be gone in a year!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is unusual, for both shoulders to be frozen at the same time! I hope you have someone who can help you with the things you can't do yourself. I think that if you can stay active, while resting your shoulders as much as possible, that is the best combination. All the best!
DeleteJan /13 for my left then in May/13 for my right. It sucks big time. I'm just so happy to read there's hope even if I'm over a year away for some pain free days and nights, and it helps knowing someone else knows what I'm going through :o)
DeleteThank you so much for sharing your experience. I have just been diagnosed with frozen shoulder and am seeing my doctor again in a few days to discuss treatment, he had suggested that cortisone would help however after reading your posts I have already decided I will leave it and let nature take its course. My intuition was telling me exactly that but now you have confirmed it for me. Thank you once again :)
ReplyDeleteEven if your intuition said something different than me, I would always say to trust your own intuition first. Fortunately, this time your intuition and I are on the same page! Rest your shoulder, while keeping the rest of your body active, and I expect that you will come through in excellent shape. To your health!
DeleteOMG!! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Its been about 2 months for me, and so far my situation matches your initial situation too. I started PT about 3 weeks ago, and kept fluctuating about it: went, cancelled appts, went again..and recently cancelled all future appts and now I read your post which confirms my intuition!! Thanks Monica, so much for giving me the confidence to follow it.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to help, Just Curious! At just two months in, you still have a long road to follow, but I am certain that by not aggravating your shoulder now, you will have the shortest journey possible. All the best!
DeleteHi Monica
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for taking the time to post your experiences. Quite scared at the moment - but I think I am going to try leaving my shoulder alone for a while. Mine is a 'post operative frozen shoulder'. I had a replacement shoulder in December 2012, so 17 months ago, and although the operation was a complete success, I have had no success at all in movement or strength. As you say, I have spent thousands on physio over the period. Now I think it is time to try and let nature take it's course. It cannot be any worse. Very scared though that it will completely seize up.
Onwards and upwards (literally!). Take care. Barbara
Hi Barbara,
DeleteWith a regular frozen shoulder, it often DOES completely seize up in the middle of the process, and then it slowly loosens up on it's own after a few months. I think the frozen stage allows the shoulder to calm down and heal. Then the body reabsorbs the "scab" and motion is restored. All the best!
Hi Moncia I fell in august 2012 and broke my ankle, a couple days later I fell using my crutches and I thought injammed my arm and didn't move it much for the next 4-5 months. I was so focused on my ankle anyway I did some research online and figured I had frozen should and tolld my doctor and he confirmed it. Well I don't have the money to get physical therapy so I started looking up exercises online and was feeling pretty panicked about it until I read your story...before that I was doing a few different exercises but since reading your story I cut it back to once every other day of pulley exercises. Do you think that would slow down my progress? I am scared not to do anything. Thanks
ReplyDeleteHi anonymous. My shoulder stopped getting worse when I stopped doing any exercises. If I were you I would do a test. Do your exercise, and then judge how your shoulder feels the next day. Write it down. Then wait about 5 days with no exercise. Write down how your shoulder feels. Do the exercise again, and the next day write down how it feels. Compare the three notes, and judge for yourself what works best. Good luck!
DeleteMy name is Randy and I have had frozen shoulder since my shoulder surgery in Feb 2012. I have tried messages, injections and physical therapy. The pain is 24 hours a day and cannot sleep. If I understand the posts, I am supposed to stop using my left arm and it will get better
ReplyDelete.
Hi Randy. I can't say if a Frozen Shoulder that arises after surgery is the same as a Frozen Shoulder that just appears out of nowhere, like mine did. But yes, my experience was that when I stopped aggravating it, it slowly started to get better. I believe it was about 6 weeks between when I decided to stop exercising it, and when I noticed the pain was gone. I still used it, but I didn't push it.
DeleteIf you are interested, you could try the experiment I suggested in the previous comment. That may give you more information to help you decide. Ultimately, you have to do what feels right to you, and whatever gives you the best feeling of relief is the way to go. All the best!
I have had frozen shoulder in both arms, about 2 years apart from each other. The first time it was my left shoulder. I went to an orthopedist who diagnosed it, gave me a cortisone injection and inflammatory medication (which neither helped), and sent me to physical therapy 2 times a week. I dreaded physical therapy because it was so painful, but I was determined to do everything I was told including exercises at home. I went through the three stages: freezing, frozen, thawing. The total process took about 18 months. I was so glad to get my life back and the doctor told me that once you get it... You never get it again (in the same arm that is).
ReplyDeleteAbout 6 months later I started getting the same symptoms in my right arm. I was devastated when the same doctor diagnosed me with frozen shoulder. This time the doctor told me he had recently attended a continuing education seminar about frozen shoulder treatment or something like that. He said that most of the data found that nothing you do really changes the 3 stage process that people go through with frozen shoulder, and that patients that did physical therapy, etc didn't get better any faster than people that did NOTHING. So, in his opinion, why go through the added pain of PT (until the last stage of thawing to hasten getting range of motion back, plus it's not painful).
So, I opted to do nothing. I never took anything, and never went to physical therapy. I had the same exact outcome. I went through the same 3 stages and It took about 18 months to get my
full range of motion back.
That is some helpful confirmation of my experience, Anonymous! Thanks for stopping by. :)
DeleteThank you for your blog. It is encouraging and somewhat confirm my intuition.
ReplyDeleteI have had my right shoulder frozen since somewhere in march 2013. The pain has not been too bad. I have been thru acupuncture, and currently with the chiro doctor, but it is still there. I have been wondering what is wrong with me now since I have been pretty healthy all my life, no aches, no pains or anything like this for such a long time.
I think I am going to stop seeing my chiro for now and see what happens. I just hope that my instinct tell me the right thing to do. Let my body heal itself in this case. It may take awhile and my golf game will be sacrificed, but I believe it will get better.
Thanks again.
You will get your golf game back when it heals. Stay active otherwise - keep walking, etc. I could see that acupuncture could be helpful for pain management, if it gets worse. Here's to a speedy recovery!
DeleteI am going through this right now and about to start physical therapy so it's very interesting to hear another opinion on treatment. My shoulder began to ache sometime around February or March and it's slowly intensified to very severe pain today. It's just been in the last 3-4 weeks that my range of motion started to go but it went fast. So apparently I'm still in phase one? I usually have 2-3 episodes a day of intense, severe pain from moving wrong and sleeping is becoming increasingly difficult. I had a cortisone shot last week, which unfortunately did nothing for me. Starting to get really depressed now. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm wondering what to do now, as the thought of starting physical therapy while still in so much pain is scary.
ReplyDeletehi, thank you so much for sharing your story. I noticed a problem with my right shoulder when i sneezed and the pain radiated so badly that i had to drop my shoulder bag and just clutch my arm. That was back in August 2012. Now, Sept 2013, i do not have full range of motion back but i do not experience those type of pains. Like in your blog, i too had to sleep a certain way and remember not to lift myself up with my arm... now it's gotten better but i still cannot put my arm behind my back or lift it straight up. I'm hoping it is slowly coming back to normal. I did PT for a few weeks but then just got so discouraged over it - especially when i read it goes away on its own. So far, i've been able to use it for my daily routine and dont think about it too often. One day, i'd like to be able to reach behind my back and scratch a normally, reachable itch. LOL. Thank you again and hope you are continuing to be well!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. My problem started in May of 2012 and I think I have stalled out in phase one. I am still in excruciating pain daily, can't sleep, and can't do normal daily things that I should be able to do. I have had 3 cortisone injections and have done physical therapy but the muscle in my right arm has completely atrophied and my arm does not move independently of my scapula. I am in constant pain but nothing seems to help, I am seriously considering the capsular release surgery at this point.
ReplyDeleteFrozen May 2013, Rested Sept 2013, Phisio Oct 2013 resulted in unfreezing by Nov 1, 2013. Thank goodness for phisio.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Anonymous. In the four years since I first posted, you literally are the first commenter who was helped by physio. If you come back, it would be helpful to know if your shoulder was still sore when you started physio, or if you had progressed to the frozen but generally pain-free second stage. Thanks!
DeleteFYI - it is not quite November 1 yet...
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am about a year and a half into my frozen shoulder (right dominant). I maintain that my frozen shoulder is related to stress. When I had my MRI the doctor said you have a little frozen shoulder you have to stop "babying it". I asked for a copy of the report. It indicated "severe frozen shoulder" I also live in Ontario. My doctor wanted me to do two days a week of physio in the begining. I will admit that I liked my physiotherapist, but she did take a much more passive approach than many. But since I am not indepently wealthy I stopped going. My doctor then tried to push a cortisone injection on me but I refused. She then suggested the "cave man" surgery.... Something about that didn't sit right with me so I looked into orthopedic surgeons in the area. Two hours away I found an orthopedic surgeon who performs the arthoscopic capsule release. I am about a week out of that right now. I am in pain, but no worse than my worse day during the frozen shoulder. I am going to a different physiotherapist. Post surgery this is covered by OHIP. Unfortunatly, my first physiotherapist is covered under OHIP. I am still not sure if I made the right decision... My hope is that by 8 weeks post surgery I notice a significant difference and that I NEVER get this again. I have never experienced something so frustrating!
All the best, Anonymous. Let us know how it goes!
DeleteThanks Monica for your comments which are very helpful. I was told I have "frozen shoulder" in September 2013 and went through "therapy" for 10 visits. It was my left shoulder and I'm right handed and am 62 years old. I found therapy to be agonizing and am not planning on returning. My orthopediatric doctor wants to see me in February and I have the therapy office calling me asking when I'm returning. It aches sometimes but I have little or no confidence in the type of treatment I've been funneled into. I feel just like sucking it up and living with it. I hate the thought of becoming uncooperative and distrusting but I'm a tough sell on being told what's good for me. Can you tell I'm a Viet Nam Vet? My wife is afraid this will lead to more issues but I'm more confident in my own ability to deal with it. Again, thanks for your contribution.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my story was a help, Anonymous. I do think that it was around the Viet Nam war that we all stopped believing everything we were told, so maybe that is one good result, anyway. My bottom line is always to do what feels right to you. I do believe that if you live as normally as possible, using your left arm as much as you can, gently, without triggering that real sharp pain, that you will move through the 3 stages fairly quickly and be seeing improvement by next September. If that sounds right to you, then it is right for you. All the best, and let us know how you do!
DeleteI have now been dealing with what I think is a frozen shoulder for about 5 months. I've had rheumatoid arthritis for 25 years and have always been Mr. Natural preferring to use diet, supplements and waiting it out rather than take medication. It has affected nearly all my joints to a greater or lesser degree. The larger joints (knees, elbows, ankles) recovered except for slight loss of range of motion but the damage done in the smaller joints has been terrible. Hand and fingers have become extremely deformed and toes are like rebar. Fortunately I can still walk. Within the past 5 years my neck has progressively lost almost all rom. Almost no side to side or up or down movement. I thought it was due to muscular tightness ( too much sitting in front of a computer) because xrays and cat scan didn't show any problem. Finally I got permission for an mri but my doctor said it looked normal and couldn't explain it. She referred me to a rheumatologist who diagnosed me with ankylosing spondylitis. He didn't mention frozen shoulder but said adhesions were restricting movement. I had some pain and swelling with some loss of movement then complete loss of movement for a couple of weeks and very bad pain requiring me to take some Advil to sleep. Pain got worse around 4am for some reason. For the past 3 months or so I can raise my arm just slightly more than straight. I can scrach my ear but that's a little painful and is my limit. Do most people have no pain once they reach the frozen stage even if they try to move to and beyond their limit? Right now I only get pain when I get to my limit but do feel a bit of achiness even when my arm is down. So am I still at the beginning stage or is this stage 2? Currently the supplements I'm taking are curcumin, msm, black seed oil, and n-acetyl glucosamine (n a g) and I move the shoulder up and down while keeping my arm down by my side. Thank you so much for your story Monica. I think I'll watch and wait as I've done for the past 25 years even with doctors trying to push drugs on me. Have I made a mistake? At this stage I really don't know but at least it was my decision and I just don't have any faith in allopathic medicine except in the case of trauma. I recently saw this on the internet and was wondering if anyone has done this or knows someone who has. The Trigenics frozen shoulder method. They claim they can heal frozen shoulder in one quick visit. Sounds good but is it too good to be true>
ReplyDeleteHi Steve. You have a lot going on with the RA, but I think you are probably right that it is a frozen shoulder. I have to admit that I am starting to forget the details now -- it's been 5 years -- but I don't recall much pain in Stage 2. The thing is that in Stage 1 you are conditioned to avoid anything that causes pain, so it is not immediately obvious when the pain leaves. You sound like you have a plan that you are happy with, so I wish you good luck and good health!
DeleteI have Frozen Shoulder. Paid many thousands of dollars to have the Trigenics treatment in Toronto. Unfortunately it was not successful. It was incredibly painful. I can't even describe it. I would never go through it again.
DeleteHello, I also paid (gulp) $7,500.00 to Dr. Austin at the Trigenics Centre in Toronto and it was unsuccessful in breaking up all of the encapsulated tissue in my shoulder. It was far more painful than I could have imagined, much worse than natural child birth in my experience. That was about 5 months ago. I tried to keep up with the stringent exercises for weeks, attending the physio sessions that were part of recommended recovery, but I couldn't take the pain and grueling drive back and forth to Toronto, so I gave up. I feel like I was mislead and taken advantage while I was in a desperate amount of pain. Now I am virtually pain free, along as don't try anything too crazy! But I don't have full rotation of my arm. I'm looking forward to the thawing process.
Deleteplease be patient with that condition.I had it for 1.6 years. It was a shock for me to experience it. The worse part was people do not understand it unless you endure it yourself. I strongly believe it is part of the family with autoimmune disorders because i also have Crohn's. You will recover, I counted each months and it happened. Stay positive.
ReplyDeleteI've had frozen shoulder for 1 1/2 years now. It was made much worse by home exercises and a steroid shot. The orthopedist I saw recently said I was already in the freezing stage at that point and that's why the exercises were too much and hurt me. I am really quite disabled now and can only do some light things around the house, like washing dishes, cooking, and laundry. I quit doing any exercises in Aug. (I really can't do any now without pain), and am letting thawing take place. My range of motion and pain have improved, but I have a long way to go to recover. I'm very discouraged, since this has already been going on so long, but Monica, your blog really inspires me that it will heal. I'm also taking fish oil and Vitamin D. Any other suggestions of natural things I can do that might help? For me, the medical profession did much more harm than good, and I'm now looking into alternative therapies like acupuncture. Do you know anything about the Neil-Asher Technique? Thank you for making your story public in this way. --Paula
ReplyDeleteAt this point, Paula, I would just make your shoulder as comfortable as possible, and give it the time it needs. Don't add any new stressors to your body, just relax and let your body heal itself. All the best!
DeleteHi Monica. I have had frozen shoulder since August 2013 and like everyone else, Im finding this to be so frustrating. I have had one injection and have been for an assessment for biokenetics. I was about to start exercising yesterday but after reading your blog, I decided to try hold out longer. Thank you for your blog. My feelings are hold out as long as possible. Things could be worse and your blog is encouraging to let people who have had/got this problem know it will get better on its on. I just hope I can hold out. I feel the pain has eased and I am in the 2nd stage which is the longest of the 3 stages.
ReplyDeleteOnce the pain has eased you're really past the worst. Good luck and be well!
DeleteHello Monica! Thank you so much for your blog. I started having pain summer of 2013. My first thought was to ice and heat and protect. I was diagnosed with Frozen shoulder, dominant left, last Fall. I did the PT as well as home PT. It was agonizing. It never completely went away though it did seem to improve. It is now coming back and I wonder if perhaps I stopped the healing process by doing the PT and the injection. Now, after finding your testimonial and others I am going to try what you have done. The pain is excruciating as it returns.
ReplyDeleteThank you again
Dee
Good luck and all the best, Dee! Let us know how it works out.
DeleteHi Monica, forgive me for asking but did you mention your age? Considering rate of healing is affected by age, I'm just wondering if my situation is similar to yours. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI was in my mid-40s at the time. But I would say that rates of healing vary more by person than by age. The main thing to know is that it is eventually going to get better. All the best!
DeleteHi there, while one my dominant side is much improved almost a year and a half later now the other one is bothering me. I am going to try your approach.
ReplyDeleteI also found out that when my father had frozen shoulder he chose to just go for massages, used heat and ice. It healed. He strongly objected to doing any PT saying it could make it worse. Just something to share as it goes along with what you are saying.
Thank you so much for sharing your story, it gives me hope.
Dee
So incredibly grateful for your blog Monica. It's difficult to go against 'conventional medical advice', but it seems right to me. Not sure exactly what stage I'm in ... Still pain, sharp at times and dull ache at times. I'm determined to nourish and nurture myself and allow my body to heal without force.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! Be well. :)
DeleteGlad I found your blog about this. I'm a 49 year old female with frozen shoulder. I was simply putting on a seat beat 5 months ago and heard a snap between my shoulder and bicep and that has lead me down the familiar pain and disability of this condition. When it didn't get better I started going to PT a month ago (did nothing for 3+ months but try to keep it still). After much painful manual deep manipulation and kinseo taping I was discharged because it wasn't working and my range of motion decreased, which was already poor when I started. I've just started taking Celebrex hoping that might reduce the inflammation and pain, but not helping yet. I can' sleep due to the pain. Rehab said to ice only that heat would be bad for the inflammation. I'm now using moist heat when I go to bed and I think it helps. Helps me fall asleep at least only to always wake up in pain and discomfort. I bought a TENS unit but jury still out on whether it's doing much. PT said to do some passive stretching only for the shoulder which I haven't implemented yet, kind of afraid to. My natural tendency is to not move the arm, but as many others say we are told we must keep it moving. Mine is frozen but still in the very painful stage if that's possible. This morning I caught my arm on a door knob and cried like a baby it hurt so bad. I'm also having significant pain in my elbow and wrist at night trying to sleep. Is that common? I'm now wrapping them in bandages for support and that is helping. I've done a lot of research on frozen shoulder and discovered an interesting theory that I didn't see mentioned here and would like your input. Apparently it's common for women about 50 years old, in menopause to get frozen shoulder in their left arm. Some doctors believe it's caused by dropping estrogen/hormonal levels. This really rings true for me and find it very interesting. I have been experiencing some significant peri-menopausal systems for a few years, but now haven't had a period since February which coincidentally or not is when the injury occurred. The women in the articles I read said they were cured of frozen shoulder when they went on HRT (hormone replacement therapy), which of course has it's own issues to be concerned about and I'm very anti-pharmaceutical, but if I'm willing to try it if there's a chance it could fix this God-awful problem. I'm exploring this now with my doctor.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and certainly a different perspective. I fell off a ladder changing a lightbulb in June 2014 with my hand outstretched. I felt pain but no dislocation. A few days later I had acute pain but no loss in mobility. A month later I went to the dr and flexibility worsened as pain increased. I couldn't sleep or move the arm effectively but I fought it and played tennis (with my other arm and no 2 hand back hand) and golf. I would get the sharp pain if I extended beyond comfortable range of motion. I could not sleep at all. I was in constant pain. In July an MRI showed a minor cuff tear but the diagnosis was now frozen shoulder.
ReplyDeleteI wanted quick resolution of pain and then return to activity - probably like most people reading this. 18-30 month recovery was not appealing to me. So I'd did everything I could. These things included (all in august 2014):
- cortisone shot to relieve inflammation and pain (worked great for a few days and then slowly wore off)
- aggressive physical therapy
- aggressive home therapy
- graston method of therapy (fascia scraping)
- manipulation by physical therapists (while awake)
- needling
Within 3 weeks I had about 50% of my flexibility back and within 6 weeks a little more than that. Resting pain is gone. I still have trouble sleeping but my shoulder will support me on my side if propped up for short periods. I can reach behind my back and above my head.
I am not playing tennis or golf for now but I am doing the stretches, strengthening whenever I can. I bring straps and pulleys to my office and do it while I'm on the phone. I continue to get the graston treatments and physical manipulation. The exercises and therapies hurt - a lot. But in six weeks I feel pretty good and the condition has dramatically improved.
So my situation may be different but through trying everything vs nothing I believe that I have greatly shortened the healing process.
I know others have failed at this despite their best efforts - everyone is different.
What I think worked for me was the combination if frequent stretching combined with three external therapies: graston (greatly increases short term motion so that you feel less pain doing the exercises), cortisone (again, short term pain relief to let you get into the stretch), needling (not sure but flexibility improved), and manipulation by a therapist two or three times a week. All of this combined with my independent work seems to have moved me along relatively quickly.
Thank you for a different success story, Anonymous. I am impressed that you were able to get an MRI within a few days of seeing the doctor! As you say, maybe doing everything all at once is what made the difference, rather than trying one thing, then another over time. All the best!
DeleteHi Monica, have enjoyed your blog but would like to add my husband's experience as a counter-perspective. My hubby was diagnosed w/frozen shoulder, surgery performed 7/21, P/T started immediately after, 2x/wk for 6wks, now at 1x/week. Pre-op he was in excrutiating pain-the slightest 'wrong' move would give him a huge jolt of pain. Even rolling in his sleep would have him waking up yelling. Yes, P/T was/is painful, but to be expected after any type surgery where limb movement is affected. He is already seeing increased mobility where there had been none post op, there is no day-to-day pain, only temporary post P/T pain. Basically, waiting it out was not an option for him. My husband is not one to complain of pain, so I know this has been a tough time for him. But I am so thankful the surgery and P/T are giving him back his life again, in a quick manner.
ReplyDeleteI am glad your husband is doing well. What kind of surgery was it? I hope you will keep us posted on his progress. All the best!
DeleteI've been dealing with a frozen shoulder since May. An MR I confirmed the diagnosis. Also showed a very small tear in the supraspinatus, which isn't operable. I went to Physical therapy? Which was excruciatingly painful. Was on a variety of NSAIDS- no relief. Hydrcodone-allowed sleep. Ice and heat helped. I've decided I'm just going to let my body heal itself, use the shoulder as I'm able to tolerate it. Thanks for your blog!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. All the best!
DeleteI too suffer from the plague known as "frozen shoulder." I tried a cortisone shot in June, helped for about 5 weeks. I recently tried Meloxicam, a NSAID, every day for 8 days. While it didn't provide a lot of pain relief, it started to "break" my shoulder apart in a couple of days. Each day brought more range. Unfortunately, due to a side effect, I had to stop taking it. I found your blog interesting in that at the same time the pain started, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Wonder if there is a link....
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your story.
I do believe that a dysfunctional immune response is at the root of frozen shoulder, and I expect that if anyone did the math, they would see a statistical correlation with autoimmune disorders. Not 100%, obviously, but more than the average. Anyway, all the best and be well!
Delete