Hi I have been suffering from a frozen shoulder for some months now. I got referred for physio but because of lockdown have been unable to take advantage of it. The doctor prescibed initially co-codamol then changed to an anti-inflammatory naproxen...neither helped. I was given exercises to do but struggled to do most of them because of the pain and stiffness. I have now had some osteopathy - five sessions which has helped a little with the pain but during that period have mostly stopped the exercises (on the advice of the osteopath) but am conscious that my mobility in my arm has got worse. I asked my GP if I could have a steroid injection but was told they are no longer possible due to covid. I am taking magnesium as someone said that would help. Any ideas would be very welcome please as to what I should be doing! thank you.
hi there cobrose
you are on a long quest on this its not a 5 min thing. first off stay positive other wise it will draw you down. you have to keep the exercises up. dont over exercise and start off a massive ache. keep the joint as mobile as possible ( you have to) . the less you use it the worse the pain. the doc was right pain killers and naproxen. it does help. cold packs help as well on the joint it numbs the pain. steroid jabs last about 12 weeks ish. i have just had delivered not 60 mins ago a cryo cuff for the shoulder. its a velcro sleeve that connects to a frozen water pump and it pumps every 45 seconds over the joint ( i have a frozen left side and a torn tendon right side. ) read my other posts in here as i had done hydro dilation on the frozen joint if you can find a surgeon to do it its worth every penny. i went in. in pain came out swinging from the lamp shades. it did cost £650 . knowing how it hurts i would have pain twice the amount. google it and keep us updated. read the posts they will help
colin
Its just as Colin says. Hydrodilatation is the way forward. Steroid injections are more temporary. My pain was at night and sleeping was a problem so I slept in a rocking chair. Ice and heat helped. Physio is only good if you dont have excruciating pain. When the GPs start opening up more get a referral to a shoulder specialist to get the above treatment. Co codamol helped also as the Naproxen made me nauseous. . Best of luck
exactly sleep whats that. lay there in the morning shattered and aching. c
hi thank you for your response. I had not heard of hydrodilitation but will ask my gp for a referal. I didnt find co-codamol made any difference at all so am now using heat and ice and like Colin getting used to not having much sleep. I find it impossible to stay asleep even when i get off to sleep and often get cramps in my arm. Did you both continue with the painful exercises? I cant decide whether to persevere hoping the pain will improve or not! the only other thing i use is Hemp oil and massage that in at night which occasionally helps me get to sleep!
you have my sympathy - i had no idea how painful it could be!
thank you..will take your advice! it has got me down lately not helped by the lockdown as it feels like there is no end to the pain! I do belong to Benenden so may investigate if i can get the procedure done that way. I do hope it gets sorted eventually.
the pain was almost unbearable. Your gp will routinely want you to have x3 steroid injection attempts first. They do not like you to have hydrodilatation possibly because of the cost and they say that steroid alone may help. All of the advice i was given was get the hydrodilatation and then once to pain and freezing are reducing then exercise.
hi again look on google for exercises to do like lean over with a tin of beans and do the pot stir. small rotations either way and back and forth . you have one enemy here. its mobility you have to keep it up no matter what. not to the extreme of hurting. PT helped a lot i was there every week and still am. just to take away the muscle tension and spasms each week really helped. i even used sports taping after to keep the muscles in place. with the hydro dilation. in the whole scheme of things it dont hurt. when my second shoulder fell apart in sept last year i tried the NHS till christmas. then called the surgeon. i had the second shoulder done in less than a week. not knowing i had torn a tendon over working and compensating for the frozen side. and i hate needles but would have it again if needed. keep up with hot baths and cold packs. dont despair. c
like me you can keep a log of which bird has the first morning call now its at about 3.45 am lol mr black bird has it at the moment. and as we have both said dont stop the stretches. do it all the time. do it as you standing in a queue. at the moment we are all good with that. use any dead time to pull stretch . is your job physical or desk. me 50% of my work is above my head. such a killer.. have the cryocast ready and ice in the freezer. had a harsh day going to plug it in and see. they promise 8 hours of ice water over the shoulder in one loading. me i will try anything to stop the ache ( now from the torn tendon) c
hi its not easy is it? sounds like you have things a lot worse what with having the right shoulder problem and a job that makes it worse! I took early retirement a few years ago. Thank goodness I reckon. The osteopath has helped with some of the pain and tapes my shoulder too..it helps sometimes until i try to take it off and pull the skin off too! i do the pendulum stretch with a full bottle of drink as often as i can but will take up what you suggest thank you. Its quite a lonely thing to suffer with and because you cant see anything no one has a clue what pain you are in. I dont feel so alone now so thank you! Hope you get some sleep before the blackbirds start!
hi my gp wont do injection as it affects resistence to the covid virus so not offering much help...
ho my god i used the aircast last night. its like a 4 ltr thermos. you load it with cold water and ice. strap on the cryo cuff over the shoulder and it goes half way down the forearm. i had it pumping back and forth for about 2 hours. my wife said its the first time i have smiled in months !!!!!. it was bliss it took all the ache away. still got the zaps from the torn tendon. but i had all evening and i did not hold my shoulder once. the pressure of the pump means it inflaited tight to your shoulder. just heaven but cost £150. worth every penny as it lasted into the night c
wow am so pleased! Sounds really good...am glad its not just me thats been grumpy! Have been feeling sorry for my husband being locked down with me as I have been moaning and groaning such a lot for months! Have just finished my exercises and wondering if i should get some resistance bands to pull did you try them? I did hear the blackbirds this morning and hoped for sleep after but my puppy had other plans! Keep smiling!
hi again
you said he tapes you after treatment. is it sport injury tape ( rock tape or kt tape). it should not be that aggressive on your skin. with me i had to shave half me top chest and arm to aid the stick. i used rock tape h20. extra sticky. for me it just hugged me arm in the right places needed. last bit mr blackbird was 3.32am lol. got 5 tonnes of shingle to get down me garden and a tonne of decking. if you here some groans in the air. you know where they come from lol c
lol ho no there has been only two times in the past 24 months i have smiled. wife said a cloud lifted when i had hydrodilation done and last night. she asked if something was wrong as my lips were pointing up with a smile. not down and generally grumpy. its a blue sky day got me arm taped up. cannot wait for the white tan lines c
hi oh dear poor you good luck with that! I struggled just getting washing on the line! My osteopath is a young girl and she uses kinesiology tape but i have very sensitive skin i think! Hope you survive the heavy work. Take care.
hi. it got to me so much and i carried on working though the bad days. i leapt at the chance when i found out about it. actually from a tenant house i was working in. she had it done. it was £100 to see the orthopedic surgeon the £550 at ramesy health on the day. when i saw him on the thursday he had a slot for the next day !!. watch it on youtube and learn then bombard ya GP with the info c
thanks Colin will look at that option if i have any money left after the osteopath! Today its improved on yesterday maybe a result of moving it more.. i tended to protect it as much as i can for fear of hurting more! Some days its like raging toothache and the pain if i accidentally jerked it was awful - often my husband would say "whats the matter?" but i couldnt answer for ages....I have no idea how you carried on working. I used to work in local government am so glad i am not now!! Thanks for the moral support. You would have laughed if you could have seen me a few minutes ago i was strap hanging on the washing line...!
hi again what is your actual name !!. you did nail it on the head. its a very lonely condition to have. you look fine on the out side but when you catch it wrong ( i named my pain a "pang") . pain and anger lol. some called it a zingger. at work the blokes just took the pee in the end. as i walk in they all hold their arm and take the pee. i would love to just give them just one day of pain. i found myself holding my arm and pinching it all the time to try and ease the pain. even now ( not social distancing) if i shake some ones hand i hold the lower arm so they cannot shake the joint. with mine now what i thought was ( big word alert) bi-lateral adhesive capsulitus . which. once MRI found a tear on the supraspinatus tendon and a bone spur digging into to the tear. general common words. i over worked the good arm and messed it up worse than the frozen joint. which now means operation time. i now get zapped with pain prob 3-4 times an hour. do you know you actually get use to the pain as a constant. with my PT i got gemma down to £23 per session(45 mins). block booked for lots and lots. where ate you geographically. me lets say stanstead airport. last one today how does the osteopath tape the arm what pattern to help you as i still like to evolve on the taping. see mine and compare.
now for a hot bath then the cold cuff c c
