I have been suffering from Frozen Shoulder for 8 weeks...I had shoulder surgery and then not long after my surgery( a week or 2) It started. MY phyical Therapist figured it out at week 5 and then doc confirmed it.. So,now on week 3 of total torture visits of excruciating pulling, ripping, you name it. Pain so intense I passed out once and cried through the first few. Now I just go and pray through them. Pain was all day long. Shoulder and muscles..(esp delt and bicep)Hard to sleep, etc.. Just laast week began with radiating nerve pain down whole arm into fingers. This never stopped. So, researching the hell out of it online, just ilke you 
, I realized that I could do much better with the range of motion torture, etc..if my muscles weren't so DAMN tight. Esp the deltoid, bicep, and teres minor, scapular muscles, traps etc. Soooooo, I decided to try a massage BEFORE my visit to torture(physical therapy appt) today. I went to a medical massage therapist and asked her to work on my frozen shoulder issue and all the muscles around it..She could not get over all the knots and tightness. Said worst she has seen in a long time. She worked on me..it was not your basic feel good massage..it was painful at times but nothing like the torture at the therapists(which I am still continuing). The spots she was hitting was so, well, spot on! And when she was through i had NO pain at all , my shoulder felt warm and loose and good! I was able to raise my arm at least 10 inches higher than before i went in. I figured it would make my torture less painful as my appt was in one hour. And it REALLY did help. therapist said he could really tell i was much looser and he could push me harder.Ouch. After therapy, arm was WORN OUT like never before. BUT it is 5 hours later and The nerve pain is at least 50% better and there is no pain in my shoulder as i sit here typing this.It is slightly sore, and Im not saying it won't come back, but i am telling you, the massage did wonders!!! I scheduled 4 more visits one per week. the $ was worth every penny. I am telling you, go get a massage and make sure it is someone good who has medical knowledge and ask them to work on the shoulder area, neck area and traps and arm for the whole hour, but i would do it RIGHT before your torture visit. Like the same day and not to far apart. So its still loose when you go. Your muscles are so tight which makes the pain so much worse. THIS IS THE ANSWER! good lluck all!
Hi Beth who did you go to n do you need to pay how much?
Dolphin500.
Hi Beth,
This will change the way both how Frozen Shoulders are diagnosed and treated.
Frozen Stiff
Has a specialist diagnoised your frozen shoulder or just your doctor and therapist. A massage may help you feel better but it will not loosen a new frozen shoulder by 10 inches after one visit. A frozen shoulder takes months to improve and vety little assists the freezing and thawing process.
I have been suffering through a frozen shoulder with massag, physio therapy, surgery , pain killets and injections for well over a year, and still trying to get more relief and movement into my shoulder.
Hi Irene! I cheated, I actuall live in the U.S. In order to participate in the discussion i had to put a UK zipzode...! I wanted so much to share my good news that i lied about the zipcode! OK. So, I went to a local girl here in Ohio! she was running a special $35 for an hour! which is unheard of..normally you would pay $50! But let me tel you, after i left there, i would pay $50 on problem. Amazing. Today I feel some pain but it is like 60% less pain than normal. Also I have been doing the tennis ball massage on myself throughtout the day today. (put a tennis ball in a pair of long socks or tights and hang over shoulder. Roll around til you find a tender knot and lean on it rolling back and forth gently! amazing!) also make sure you try it down near the back of your arm pit but up a little bit. One other thing the massage therapist told me to do was ice massage on my delt and biceps area where i feel pain. Take an ice cube and put it directly on skin . rub around pretty firmly in a circular motion for about 3 minutes each spot! Gets cold but does help alot! Good luck Irene, i will pray for you!
Yes! I feel like massage should be a part of the therapy for sure. It really helped. read my message to Irene for an update on how it feels today after massage and torture visit! IT only makes sense as while getting pulled etc, at therapy, all of your muscles resist and tighten up making it more painful.
Yes, My ortho surgeon who did the shoulder surgery diagnosed it 5 weeks after my initial surgery. I am telling you for me, a big part of my pain was the tightness in my arm and scapula..loosening it helped me to achieve greater range of motion and released alot of pain that was in those areas where she felt the knots. There are still knots..as it will take time to get those out. I am going back weekly to get them worked out. IF you had massage was it a medical massage and was the whole hour on just your shoulder, back, arm and neck?
Wow that is amazing, I'm so happy it helped you. I've had it for four months and had shoulder MUA on Tuesday , wed morning the nerve block was still working and my therapist got me all the way to 180... Today Thursday it was painful but got to 160. I am so happy I did it. I have slept 2 nights like a baby and hardly any pain at all.
Hi again Beth, I should think that tight muscles play little part in the loss of range in FS. Isn't it just the capsule or at least it's inner layer that shrinks and causes the limitation of range? As FS is a condition caused by a genetic abberation or at least a heratability factor, it runs in families and is associated with Dupuytrens contracture and Peyronies disease, The latter in men only. Perhaps also tennis elbow. Supporting this is that monozygotic twins seemed to have more chance of each having FS than dizygotic twins. This does not mean that you will ever know someone in your family with any of the aforementioned conditions.
You can find all this on the web as I have done. I would quote the resources but the moderator will delete them if I do.
Frozen Stiff
Mua was an option for me, but my therapist talked me into going through with the torture. I am at 170 for overhead, but that is with my therapist ripping and killing me. It is so awful I know how you feel. Abduction im at 147. Not sure of other numbers. All of these measurements are with him pulling and forcing. I heard a pop today, i think it was a tear! yay! Are you on pain meds for therpay I have to take 2 before my thereapy sessions to get through them>
you are correct in that they are indeed adhesions that are encapsulating the joint creating the immobility, and not tight muscles. But. the tight muscles for me were making it so painful when i wasn't even moving my arm. ALL day long. The muscles being loosened for me greatly relieved that all-day pain as well as the all day nerve pain i was feeling. The excruciating pain i feel when he pulls on it and i move in certain ways is definitly still there! But i feel as though i have turned a corner. My mood is lifted as well not being in pain ALL day. just a tired, sore feeling remains. This i can deal with . Not sure if the surgery i had added to my tightness or what. I feel that the tightness being reduced has allowed the therapist to go further as my muscles are not resisiting it as much as before. See, when the joint is so stuck, the next thing that gets pulled are your muscles, as i am sure you are aware...Good lluck I will keep you and all here in my prayers! If nothing else, get a massage arounf the area to treat yourself, you deserve it after all the pain you are feeling.
I'm so jealous! Was seriously thining about MUA. Were you worried about the possible complications of doing it? Like the humerus breaking or rotator cuff repair or...? IS it like night and day now?
I was really worried and cried the whole night before. But I'm happy I did it. Therapy every morning and it is very painful. I know what you mean about the forcing. We still have to of that to keep the lesions stretched out. I cried today. I take a pain pill before going also. I thought after MUA that I apwas going to be in so much pain at home but I'm not. Just sore...I wish doc had done it months ago. I also heard a pop this morning during therapy. You can youtube the procedure but I suggest not to as thavis what freaked me out . I can lift my arm all the way up...it's amazing!
I'll add that doc said mine was one of the worst he has seen. I don't know where you live but I went to dr ebraheim at university of Toledo
I've been following your posts about the frozen shoulder. I have tried some at home therapy that I downloaded from the internet. I noticed that the muscles in my neck just above my shoulder are much tighter and there are many more knotted and tight areas around the shoulder and scapula. Although massage would not cure the problem, I feel that you are correct in that the loosening of those muscles help with the therapy. After all, the therapy is partially done to aid in strengthing muscles that support the shoulder, therefore preventing further injury. It just makes sense.. Thank you.
sure! so glad you are on the right track! I have since had the MUA. I now have full range of motion when they stretch me. It has been 4 dyas since the mua. I am in a lot of pain all day long, but not that much worse than before and at least now i have full range. PT told me I would feel less sore after a week or two post mua, becuase i am still recovering and healing up from the MUA..they went in and removed scar tissue too, so i am healing from those incisions, etc.. I will say the massage though gives so much relief right after i leave there. I have no pain for a day or so and the next day is less pain as well..the pt noticed i was much looser after massage and was able to get me farther easier. Good luck and I am hoping to be in the home stretch very soon!!
Well two days after my last post, I got kicked in the upper arm by a patient at work (accidentally) and it has sent my shoulder into pain overdrive. I had an xray and nothing is broken and I started PT yesterday. The 'evaluation' was agonizing and now I am going again today for some actual therapy. My sleep has been much worse. I take the muscle relaxers then wake up when they wear off in agony. The doctor said it was muscle strain, which it certainly feels that way, but time will tell. Since this happened at work, I now have a few restrictions and my PT is covered during work hours. But lack of sleep is driving me nuts.
Are you kidding me you prror thing!!! Godd God just what you needed. I swear, this frozen shoulder...its ike just when you think things are going good....
But on a lighter note, I am on day 12 after MUA and I am doing really well..I am in the home stretch for sure. Thank the Good Lord!!! I am still in pain, but not as bad. I can sleep without pain pills. I still have full range still whe they stretch me. It is not as painful and my doc says by next week i should not have any of the "all-day-long" pain. I will still have some pain when they stretch me, but only then. So, I feel much more optimistic. Got another massage today (my PT is now giving me them before i stretch) it makes all the difference in the world as my scapula and delts are So crazy tight but not as bad as they were. YAY! Good Luck and everyone GET A MASSAGE, what do you have to lose?
Oh I forgot to ad that I was injured while trying to do an MRI on a patients shoulder.. isn't that ironic!! Today's session my PT had to massage the muscles in my neck/shoulder area because one particular treatment caused my muscles to seize up and I was in tears and could not move. He was shocked and said it wasn't supposed to do that.. Oops well it did!! Now I am finally at home where I can get drugged up and took enough muscle relaxers to relieve it all for the night. PT should stand for Physical Torture instead of Physical Therapy. I want a massage so bad but I am afraid it might hurt worse than whats already going on.
Hi annie, it wont make it worse, i really don't think. I would give it a go and tell them to work on your neck AND SCAPULAR MUSCLES.I'm telling you it helps. But, had a horrible day today. Thanksgiving day and I am at home. Yesterday, a different pt stretched me and really messed me up. I was doing do well, and then she went a totally different direction..which my pt was not doing yet..(over my head at a diagonal) and i told her, i wasn't doing that yet, and she did it anyway. Was up last night crying at 2:30 and then again this morning when I woke. I have been crying all day. My hubby is amazing and there for me through it all. Was able to go theough my stretches with my hubby but really hard today. (its a holiday today so PT is closed for the day)This is the worst i have felt in over two weeks. I know its from what she did yesterday. I want to kill her!