Frozen shoulder

[Mustardfan]

Has anyone got any advice? The pain has been terrible for about 3 months. I’m feeling a bit better now I’ve got a diagnosis and I’ve started stretching it. I’ve also just started sleeping with a blanket under the affected arm (while sleeping on the other side). That seems to help. I’ve started showering before I stretch (several times a a day).

I had my right one for a year followed by my left one for another year - yes this was just before the menopause.

OP if you’re still able to stretch, you’re obviously at quite an early stage. You’ll get to the stage where to move it at all will cause an agonising burst of pain commonly referred to as a “zinger.” The worst pain I have ever experienced in my life.

The only thing you’ll be able to do at that stage is avoid moving your arm - cold packs soothe it when it’s throbbing.

You’ll be offered steroid shots which will make no difference ime.

After a couple of months you may find the zingers reduce and you start to feel less pain when moving. At that stage you can start gentle stretching exercises as it defrosts. Stretching arm against my kitchen work surface was the best one for me - over a few weeks you’ll find it gets looser and you start getting about 80 percent movement back. Then over a couple of months it gets better and better.

Good luck OP. A horrible much underestimated condition IMO.

There are lots of FB groups that offer support.

Thanks so much for all the replies. I think I’m peri menopausal, so it’s interesting to hear that that’s related. I wonder if hormone treatment would help? I wonder if that’s ever been researched? I’ve also found that running seems to help, I’ve assumed that thats due to the endorphins and general increase in circulation. I’ve found stretching exercises on YouTube and for a few days I’ve been having four showers a day and doing the stretches afterwards. My mobility is a bit better today. I’m sorry for everyone else who is going through this too, especially the person who said they’d had it for two years, but it helped hearing others stories and also stories about it getting better. I’m wondering if an ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet would help, but it would be such a lot of hassle to follow. I’d like to try swimming, there’s an outdoor pool not that far from me, which I’m assuming will be staying open, I might try that, though the last two times I went swimming I got a sinus infection, so I’m not sure. I just wish there was a solution to the pain at night.

I found anti inflammatory diet and supplements did help (may have been at the tail end anyway?).

Hydrodilation and swimming.

The hydrodilation only gave me a small improvement with movement but it stopped the agonising pain and the swimming helped keep strength in the arm.

My mobility is slowly coming back but its been almost two years.

Recently with swimming I have developed terrible sinus problems afterwards - constant sneezing for hours. One kind mumsnetter on swimming thread suggested nasal saline spray after swimming which helps enormously. Might help to avoid sinus infection? It basically flushes the nasal cavities.

jewel1968 I have the same problem with my sinuses when swimming and I wear a nose clip. One on a string from arena.

Hello
not read the whole thread but when I had one, my left shoulder and I'm left handed, I could hardly change the gears on my manual car more than 25 years ago. However, I could move my arm past the 11pm mark without pain the gp did it. 3 months for PT and good job i had an office job. PT saw me for 10 mins gave me an excerice regime I followed it to the letter and next appt 6 weeks I was almost fully recovered. He told me to keep up the ecercises. I do not do them know but if in some pain as per PT advice I press hard on the top of my shoulder to the front of my body - push hard you get a needle type pain and then the shoulder pain goes away for a while. I could not sleep at night when i first got it.

Thanks for the advice about swimming, I might try the spray and nose clip, maybe after lockdown.

I’ve had a lot of improvement in the pain from doing stretches five times a day, warming my shoulder beforehand, holding each stretch for over a minute and doing each of them 5 times each session. (Four different types of stretch). Very time consuming.

I've had frozen shoulder twice, both left and then right.
I had hydrodilation in my left shoulder which worked up to a point but I was not referred to a physiotherapist so the problem started again. A camera guided steroid injection solved it.
I'm seeing an osteopath for my right shoulder and am seeing real improvement.

@Mustardfan I wanted to let you know that since posting, my shoulder has simply unfrozen. I can get into and out of jackets and have pretty close to usual movement up behind back to opposite shoulder blade. Good luck! It’s taken 18 months but it finally happened and I’m not sure how

Thanks for that Matildaona. It’s weird the way it can clear up suddenly. I suppose as weird as the way it comes out of nowhere. I think that more research is needed on the condition.