Not to do exercises for frozen shoulder?

[SilkieChick]

I was diagnosed with the beginnings of a frozen shoulder a few weeks ago by a physiotherapist. She gave me some exercises to do which she said might help to shorten the duration of the problem.

I promptly got covid and shortly after that was on holiday...basically life got in the way and I haven't done any of the exercises yet and the condition hasn't really changed much for me so far.

Thing is, I'm seeing a lot of people say it just has to run its course and I'm wondering if doing any of the stretches will really make a difference - or just be time wasted and discomfort for no real improvement?

Fwiw my shoulder is not (yet) very painful, but uncomfortable some of the time, with certain movements.

Does anyone have experience of noticeably improving a frozen shoulder with exercise?

Your condition won’t change because you’ve not done the exercises. Mine felt more released and comfortable after doing the stretches and exercises. You really should just dedicate some time to do them even if it’s 10 minutes before bed.

The national institute for clinical excellence (NICE) have assessed that physio is helpful cks.nice.org.uk/topics/shoulder-pain/management/frozen-shoulder/.

Mine is still a problem 2 years later. 2 sets of steroid injections and physio has helped. I didn't do exercises at the beginning and it just got worse and worse until I could hardly move it. Definitely do the exercises! Hope yours turns out to be better than mine

i would do the exercises
why on earth wouldnt you?
covid or not?
holiday or not.

i get them every couple of years. I give it a rest from heavy activity, massage deeply several times a day with the opposite hand and do gentle stretches, also several times a day. The whole thing is over in 8-10 days.
Do what you like but the bloody things can linger for weeks and weeks.

If you really have this condition, once it is in the frozen stage, exercises are good to try and keep some mobility.

I did the exercises from early on when I was diagnosed and it never really got any worse, only steadily improved. Mind you mine was 'atypical' as there was relatively little pain. I also swam regularly for a few months and think that probably helped.

Interestingly my physio also had a frozen shoulder and admitted she wasn't doing her exercises as often as me and that I was recovering faster! 😮

What we talking about her op
20 mins a day?

you could have done some of the exercises in the time you started this thread.

Eh?
WTF? Why if heavens earth would you not?

And yes, I've had frozen shoulder and had it operated on. And Dh because of me, has had both his shoulders operated on, right then left, 8 months apart, because he had frozen shoulder in both. He had op last week and is diligently doing recovery exercises every day.

Frozen shoulders are meant to settle eventually themselves, with a freezing phase, a frozen phase and a thawing phase. HOWEVER the rule of thumb for this is 2 years.

Also, this is by far from universal. Some people have a far more tricky course. Some require surgery. Some end up with chronic pain.

Why not do your exercises to speed up recovery and try to avoid being one of the unlucky cohort. If it is too painful/restricted to do the exercises already, then speak to your physio to see if they feel an injection may help. But if you have the injection, please do your exercises afterwards too!

I would do the exercises. You really really do not want your shoulder to get worse. You are lucky not to be in pain at this stage ..... Pain from frozen shoulder is excruciating

You’re being very daft. Just do the exercises

Life got in the way. A perfectly acceptable reason not to look after your health. So you should probably continue to ignore the exercises and get on with your life, at least until the frozen shoulder gets in the way of you doing that, when you won't have much of a (painfree or easy) life for a significant period of time.

Had frozen shoulder twice, and the excercises were the only thing that worked for me.

This. Its like you are looking for permission to not do them. You are possibly prolonging the condition so why wouldn't you do them? Find a time to do them regularly like before bed so it becomes routine

Why would you bother going to (and probably paying) a physio, if you aren't going to take the treatment? And then ask MN (well known for its sound medical advice??), rather than doing what the qualified person has told you?!

I had a frozen shoulder, following a shoulder injury. Most painful thing ever. The only thing that helped was a cortisone shot and physio 3 times a week for months. It took a long time to get better - 6 months +. Do the physio !!

Dh had a fs due to a period of restricted mobility. Exercises and physio were of limited help in his case, although he could have done them more often. An injection has only restored some movement so still worth doing them to avoid longer term issues.

Erm, ok, thanks for those offering constructive advice, experience and encouragement. And those who are being considerably more brutal/sarcastic thanks for reminding me why I shouldn't post in AIBU...

Tbh it feels like yet another thing to tick off the daily list of Things To Do when I have very little margin in my day as it is. Am struggling a bit to adapt to stepping up to FT working week recently. So yes, I've let this one slip because it hasn't felt chronic. But I do look after myself by running regularly and gardening whenever I can possibly squeeze it in, so I'm not totally irresponsible about my health!

I will take on board what many of you are saying and see if I can build in some exercises to my daily routine and make it a habit. I certainly don't want it to get the point of being excruciating so I guess a little bit of time and discomfort is probably worth the effort.

Dh physio recommended a shoulder pulley which is easy to do a few exercises as you pass by or wait for kettle to boil.

https://www.completecareshop.co.uk/daily-living-aids/exercise/exercise-machines-and-equipment/shoulder-pulley?sku=Q00471&gclid=CjwKCAjw9NeXBhAMEiwAbaY4lqaPtJMfU6WlIFhJor1ggLnkgRG6dJbzF4jmbaA7x6RmFXkfEmxURoCBEcQAvDBwE

Please do the exercises, I was like you and didn't do them. I had 18mths of hell with my shoulder getting worse and worse, couldn't even fasten my bra strap at one stage as my range of movement became so limited. The NHS physio gave me an exercise routine to be done so many times a day, it was complicated and time consuming, I never got through the whole routine. In the end I switched to a private physio, he was great, gave me exercises to do whilst waiting for the kettle to boil (stretching with a tea towel!), or whilst waiting in the car to pick up the kids. I even had a stretchy band attached to the newel post on the stairs that I would use to stretch with each time I walked past. Worked a treat as I didn't have to set time aside.

I would strongly advised to do them. I didn't do mine and it took a long time to recover and even now years later my arm aches and I have limited mobility in it. I regret not pushing through with it when I first got it.

Please do the exercises. I got most of the mobility back in my shoulder within a couple of weeks by exercising, although it remained painful for months.

I don't know what you have been advised to do, but I was told little and often was best, rather than one block. I can remember doing stretches in the loo at work, for instance.

Hope this is helpful

Apparently early intervention can help, i left mine too late and had 18 months of discomfort. I'd be inclined to do the exercises, I'd never heard of the condition beforei had it. Very painful!!

Exercise WON'T work but a simple procedure will. Unfortunately, you will probably have to pay for it though.
When I had the beginnings of a frozen shoulder I did the exercises but all the health professionals I saw (osteopath, physio and orthopaedic surgeon) agreed that the exercises in themselves would not prevent the eventual "freeze". And they were right.
My understanding is it's not like a muscle that you are keeping supple, it's a band a cartilage-type material that is contracting around your shoulder and you can't stop it because it's influenced by age and gender, not inactivity.
So despite me regularly exercising it and having regular deep tissue massage, it got a lot worse, completely froze and I was unable to dress myself and couldn't sleep at night with the pain.
I was in agony and very distressed, particularly as the NHS physio pretty much said, "it will be fine in about two years. You can do this towel stretch but it won't speed it up. Discharged".
I paid to see a private Orthopaedic surgeon who subsequently booked me in for a manipulation under local anaesthetic. Basically, the band of cartilage needs manually stretching/releasing but the pain of moving a frozen shoulder means that an individual can't do this with a few daily stretches. The procedure was nothing short of a miracle (I can't stress that enough!) and I was pretty much back to normal the next day with full, pain free movement! I asked why I hadn't heard about this via the NHS route and he said it's simply cost. The bad news is that if you get one frozen shoulder, you're more likely to get the other freeze but at least I know what to do. Apparently, frozen shoulders vary from person to person but you can't stop them and the full freeze is terrible.