Frozen shoulder? Agony

[AngelusBell]

I have excruciating pain in my left shoulder that is worse at night and radiates down my arm. It feels like a ‘dead arm’ and when I turn over at night the pain wakes me up. I had 30/500 mg prescribed over the phone by a GP on 21st March, so it’s been over 3 months.

I went on holiday last week and putting a light rucksack on was extremely difficult. Likewise doing up my bra. I work from home at a desk and use talk to type dictation software (Dragon) - I have had this problem for years, perhaps it’s from leaning forward to type before I got a better ergonomic setup.

This latest episode is making it painful to dress, I can’t use the arm to swim, and bathing is difficult - I don’t have a shower.

Does this sound like a frozen shoulder? I had the same issue with my other shoulder during 2021/22 and the waiting list for physio was so long that it had almost gone away by itself before I saw the physio.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I've had Frozen Shoulder.
Its important to get a proper diagnosis. FS is often misdiagnosed as something else and visversa.
If you do have full FS - proper name is Adhesive capsulitis - there are 3 distinct phases.

Freezing - The most painful stage where inflammation builds up in your shoulder casual membrane and causes huge amounts of pain. The capsule will become thickened and stiff causing restricted movement of the whole shoulder.

Frozen - Stage where pain levels decrease but the joint is at it most restricted movement wise.

De-frosting - Eventually naturally the condition will pass - pain levels can increase this stage as you gradually start to do more and your range of movement will start to return to normal

The whole process can take up to 18 months or more. I had it for 3 years and eventually the only thing that resolved it was surgery - but that was an extreme case not everyone gets to that point.

You have to got through the motions via NHS to get referred to MSK and eventually a physio. But NHS physio are very limited on what they can actually do - they will likely just asses your movement and give you a sheet of exercises to do at home. If you can afford to I would highly recommend finding a private physio who will be able to give you a targeted exercise programme and should also be able to offer treatments aimed at reducing pain like acupuncture, light therapy and gentle manipulation or massage.
Ask you GP about hydro-dilatation which is a steroid injection given under x-ray or ultrasound along with an injection of saline to try and expand the capsule sac.

Good Luck

Try and get a private physio if you can afford it. I saw mine at 3-4 week intervals for ten sessions and it made a world of difference.

Relative who saw an NHS physio saw them once and was given a sheet of exercises to do. The exercises I did were adjusted with every session I had. She still has problems now whereas mine is completely better.

Thank you @its2025. Really helpful.

@RidingMyBike Could you give me a ballpark for what private physios charge per hour.

It was about £65 for an initial 45 minute consultation, then £50 for follow up 30 min ones.

Look up some local ones and they should have prices on their website. And might indicate if they have a specialism, some specialise in women's health or sports injuries.

Chinese acupuncture clinic helped but ultimately it is wait it out and avoid movement which exacerbate if you can

If you are employed - you may find your employer wellbeing benefits might offer some free physio sessions? I'm employed by a large company and I was able to claim some free sessions via our Health and wellbeing package. Otherwise the prices @RidingMyBike quoted are roughly the same as mine charged.

So pleased I’ve found this thread. I’m laying on the sofa with a hot water bottle behind my right shoulder feeling exhausted by the pain. I’m in the freezing stage again. I think. MRI booked for end of the month so I’m not taking any pain relief or anything to reduce inflammation because I need it to show on the MRI. I’ve had years of this pain and the GP ignoring me. I went to private Physio and it was so bad that I had to ask them to stop treating my shoulder. The treatment was aggravating it not healing. The physio told me to go back to my GP and insist on a referral. Then I had an eye emergency and ended up on steroids for nine months and the pain went completely now that the eye emergency is resolved and the steroids have taped to nothing, the pain is returning along with the limited movement and utter exhaustion from managing it.

weirdly praying I need surgery because I know steroid injections are only patching me up not resolving the issue and the pain is ruining my life I know this for a fact because I felt so much better on the steroids, yes I know they can give you euphoria, but being pain-free was a revelation.

I often come on threads about frozen shoulders to recommend using a TENS machine - so often in fact that people are probably sick of me suggesting it! But I found one enormously helpful when mine was at its most painful.

I had a steroid injection with saline (hydrodilatation) and it was the thing that started the process of recovery for me. I won’t say it wasn’t a long road even then but I think it turned the corner.

It’s really the most horrendous thing. ‘Frozen shoulder’ is such a misleadingly benign term for such an agonising condition.

A couple of things

frozen shoulder can be a complication of type 2 diabetes so a good idea to check

hydrodilatation worked wonders for me , twice, but can only be done a maximum of three times. The physio I was going to was getting to a dead end but the increase in range of movement immediately afterward hydrodilatation was marvellous .

I had frozen shoulder and had steroid injections but they didn't work, pain relief didn't touch it so I didn't take it. After 12 months physical I had a capsular release arthroscopy surgery. I have movement now. It still is painful but was the only thing that worked. Followed by physio.

Heat and tens machine helped in the meantime and hydrotherapy pools