I have had frozen shoulder for about 4 months now, diagnosed by GP and phsiotherapist. Shoulder and arm painful and aching all time even with painkillers. movement very limited. I knocked shoulder today when walking through a doorway and the agony lasted 2 minutes. Also happened when my dog was in my way and I had to move suddenly. I never experienced pain like that before. can't sleep etc and can't tie my hair up for work (wake my kids up to do it for me) washing hair one handed just about coping. Finding work and driving very difficult. keep thinking about going off sick, but surely can't stay of sick for months on end. Can't decided what to do about work. I am a home help and need to be able to shower, folk and help them dress etc. (could do with the help myself)..... fed up!
I totally sympathise. The washing hair thing!! What about shaving your arm pit? Hanging out washing. The list goes on.
I have had frozen shoulder in my left arm and am now going through it with my right arm.
Been months, probably a year since first onset, but very slightly starting to improve now. Still very little movement, but pain is subsiding. The excruciating pain when you make a sudden move, the constant discomfort and the sleepless nights are now all easing slowly.
I dont know how you are managing to help others with their daily care. Surely it must be a health and safety issue if you are potentionally only using one arm. For you and your client. Difficult decision though.
I found steroids and physio no help the first time so decided not to bother with the second one.
Incidently do you mind me asking how old you are? I was 35 with first and am now 39.
I feel so sorry for you, I'm 42 and was diagonsed with a FS in April 10
As I work on a computer all day I found working really hard as well as coping with every day tasks like washing, dressing ect.
My doctor in the end signed off work he referred me for a cortisone injection which didn't work, plied me full of pain killers which spaced me out. I'm still waiting for a physio appointment. In the end as my lifting range has not improved one iota my doctor referred me to a consultant that appointment is not until 19 October 10.
In total I was signed off work for 16 1/2 weeks. I felt pressurised by my employer and OH in returning to work. After reading several experinces on this forum I purchased a TENS Machine which helps with the pain. I decided to return to work with aid of the TENS, I try to aviod travelling in the rush hour so my shoulder is not knocked about.
I've been back to work for 3 weeks now although on reduced hours as a phased return, I'm struggling and dreading the thought of returning full time as I'm physically no better, and evening my shoulder and neck constantly ache.
I wish you all the best but as your employment involves helping others I would speak to you doctor.
thanks for your replies, it is so good to hear others experiences. I am 47 by the way and when i get up in the night or first thing in the morning feel like i am 107. I have now been signed off for 2 weeks and feel guilty, but think I may be off for a while yet. It does feel less painfull if I keep moving it and that seems to work better than the painkillers.
It is coming up to a year since the first onset of my second frozen shoulder. It is now slowly improving. The pain is subsiding,, that excruciating stabbing pain when you knock your arm is lessening. The sleepless nights are improving in that I wake less frequently. It is still extremely stiff and movement is enormously restricted. Light at the end of the long dark tunnel though!
I feel you will be off longer than 2 weeks!!!
Try applying heat to it at night. I also have been using a mini TENS machine and although it doesn't get rid of the pain it certainly detracts from it! It was only £20 and well worth every penny. Just helps you get back to sleep.
Trouble now is both my arms are becoming flabby and cellulity where the mucles have wasted.
And like you I feel much older than my years. Every day tasks are an effort. I dread hanging out washing!
Well take it easy for 2 weeks now, but I doubt it will improve any that quickly.
just been to see shoulder expert at hospital today and she said i will probs be off work about 8 weeks cos still so painful and lack of sleep. she said i was well and truly frozen. I was quite pleased that last night i only got up at 2.30am and 6.30am. I am having another steroid injection in about 2 weeks so maybe that wil help.
thanks for your reply, love hearing about others experiences, it gives me hope.
I sympathise with anyone suffering a frozen shoulder. I am currently coming to the end of my second. First time round I had it manipulated under anaesthetic. I woke up in some considerable pain. However, it didn't last long. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the movement in my arm came back.
Two years later my other arm started to stiffen up, the nerve pain on sudden movement was excruciating. I had just changed my job so didn't want to take time off. I was advised to take a tablet called nortriptyline, it is an antidepressant which is used for nerve pain. It worked brilliantly for my pain. So much so I was able to keep my arm moving and over only a couple of months had 95% movement back in my arm. I have now been off the tablets for 1 week, and although I haven't got full movement back yet it is improving daily.
There are other medications used for this type of pain such as amitriptyline another antidepressant and Gabapentin, or Pregablin which are anti-convulsive medications but are also used for this type of pain.
I am 46 years old and on my 2nd Frozen Shoulder. I took it in my right shoulder in 2006 and after lots of pain, physio, acupuncture, painkillers finally got it resolved in Jan 2008 with a hydrodilation injection.
Now I have taken it again in my left shoulder -this time because I knew what it was I went straight away for physio and an injection in Dec 2010. Unfortunately this did not work. I have just had another injection last week but again there very limited improvement.
I have seen an Orthopaedic Consultant last month and his advice is to have keyhole surgery to get the scar tissue broken down.
I am very worried about having surgery - its a last resort.
But am beginning to realise that this may be the only way forward for me as the injections have not worked.
I have been signed off work since Nov 2010 and am also getting stressed about not being able to go back.
I would appreciate any advice or experiences of surgery.
I sympathise with all above. I've had frozen shoulder 3 times over the last 20 years. It's very painful, especially when trying to rest or sleep. for the first 2/3 months and then gradually diminishes until it disappears after 10/12 months. I've only ever taken painkillers for it, to help sleeping. I believe that surgery and steroid injections can be hit or miss and, considering it does go away eventually, I feel that these types of intervention are maybe unneccessary. Things to avoid are raising your arm above shoulder height and reaching behind. Also sleeping or napping in an armchair or on a sofa can be less painful than trying to sleep horizontally.
I have hd the condition for 14 months now and it is still getting worse ,I thought it had 3 stages I seem to be stuck in stage 1
I had accupuncture which caused a massive flare up for over a week so I
refused any more ,I was offered the injection but after reading comments on here I refused this too ,the physio says there is nothing more she can do for me and just to keep up with the excersises she has given me ,some days I can do them some days I cannot.
I only take Ibuprofen as Naproxen which I was prescribed do not agree with me . I do get some sleep but wake at 5 or 6 times a night with the pain ..The main problem besides the usual ,dressing ,washing hair is changing gear when I am driving and pulling on the hand brake .I do work and have had no time off at all with this condition due to the fact I cannot afford to ,I thought after all this time I would be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel but as yet nothing ..
Seems yours is lasting longer than the usual 10/12 months. I don't know why this should be, but I personally would be careful about exercising it. Good rest seems to be the best healer. I don't know if you've tried sleeping or napping on an armchair or sofa for a better sleep. Lying down always made the pain worse for me. A change of sleeping position can alter the intensity.
However I don't want to detract from the previous poster's request....which was...does anyone have any advice on injections or surgical intervention ?
I have had this frozen left shoulder for 8 months now -the injections using ultrasound definitely do help with the pain. Unfortunately my shoulder still remains stiff and in pain (though its reduced).
I was advised by my OH dept not to drive with it as the movement is so restricted.
My GP has advised me to go ahead with the surgery but says my movement in the arm will never be the same again.
I am un sure whether to go ahead or wait it out for another few months in the hope that the shoulder naturally recovers.
I am on sleeping tablets and the thought of waiting another 3-4 months without a positive outcome fills me with dread.
I know what you mean. If you waited in hope of it self resolving, and it didn't , it would be a double blow. Most articles I've read on frozen shoulder suggest it will self resolve and each of the three times I had it, it did....magically disappeared almost on cue. However, there may be other issues involved, such as arthritis, which might affect the usual overview. As far as I know , with frozen shoulder, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the shoulder joint. It usually results from a neck problem, such as a trapped nerve, and enters a cycle of muscle spasms which is difficult to break. Cortisone injections can sometimes help break the cycle, but I'm not so sure about surgery because, if it's definitely frozen shoulder then, as I see it, there's nothing to fix. It might be worth getting a second opinion so you can make an educated choice for surgery, or not. You might find that a physiotherapist is more familiar with symptoms and outcomes and your GP should be able to refer you for an opinion.
As I see it, it's always worth asking to be better informed before opting for surgery. In cases where there is a doubt about the possible success of surgery, we usually end up simply having to trust our instincts about the advice we recieve. A second opinion can help to clarify such a decision.
Honestly my heart goes out to people suffering, I just popped in to see if there was any more updates on treatment, I had both shoulders freeze at the same time, the second started a few weeks after the first, I was lucky with the steroid injections, it reduced the tendonitis (awful arm pain) but the stiffness and the general aching and pain continued, after about three months because of xmas I had a two week break from physio and the pain really reduced, when I went back it got bad again, so I stopped. The pain is due to the inflamation and I think aggressive physio just aggrivates it.
The real change came when I decided to try swimming, I'd had hydrotherapy for a back problem, so though it might help and it really did, ok so I couldn't actually swim as such but getting my shoulders under water and then exercising I found I could get a bit more movement, even behind my back. I did about half an hour a couple of times a week and after a couple of weeks the difference was amazing, annoyingly at a check up with the consultant he casually told me that a lot of people say swimming helps, could have told me that at the start! Anyway from about 5 months on it was not particularly painful, a lot of aching, but the time comes when you start finding the movement coming back and the relief that it is recovering helps you through the rest, in all it was 12 months for me, that was three years ago, my right shoulder is fine, my left will ache if I carry heavy loads, or bend it back, so there is some residual stuff going on.
I know at the acute stage it is a living hell, but honestly there will come a time when it is just a very bad memory, I live in fear of having it again, but if I do I will just get through it knowing it will resolve itself - eventually.
THat seems like a pretty good description of the accepted progress of frozen shoulder to me. I'm sure the professionals would agree that their approach to it is a bit hit and miss and the sufferer is probably more aware of what works and what doesn't. I've had it 3 times , so I know the main issue is toleration during the first 2/3 months. Knowing that it will ease down is a big help during this period....Whereas not knowing can lead to a desire for surgical or epidural intervention. I think the professionals think they don't look very professional if they suggest 'Just wait and see' so they compensate with therapy suggestions to distract the patient. What is in short supply is advice on managing the frozen shoulder at home and at work during the worst periods, without the assumption that serious intervention may be required.
Hi I am so glad I found this thread. I have just been diagnosed with a frozen shoulder in my dominant arm. It started about 2 or 3 months ago after jarring my arm in a coat sleeve! The pain has been excruciating on sudden movement, like pulling the car door shut! I had just landed a job after a five month period of being out of work and had to gave it up on my taster day as I could not lift stock boxes and shelf fill, this was the main part of the job. I am now back to job searching and have no idea what I am capable of doing or when my arm will be back to normal. I am having severe problems with dressing, washing and combing my hair. Housework has taken a real knock and the garden is covered in weeds because I just can't pull or dig them out. Sleeping is impossible, unless I sleep sat upright and that is in itself an uncomfortable position to sleep in all night. I have had a cortisone jab, which lasted all of 3 days! I was referred to a physio who gave me a sheet of exercises and has referred me back to the Doc as the freezing is continuing and my movement is so limited already. He has said that the Doc might either, refer me for a surgical procedure, refer me for a scan, or do nothing at all. I have not read of anybody who has had a surgical procedure, does it work? I was told that frozen shoulder can only happen once per arm, but have read here that somebody has had it 3 times! I am going to try swimming (I can't swim, but will try moving my arm in water ) I am finding this condition to be miserable, painful, depressing and debilitating and I wish there was an instant cure. I desperately need to find a job but am wondering who will take me on with this condition, and what can I physically do when I cannot even wash and dress myself without extreme difficulty and pain. I keep being told there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel seems to be endless when I am only a short way into it.. I have read about a tens machine, how do I use that please?, how long for, where do I position it and where can I get one? Is there different degrees of this condition? It seems as though some people can work with it and get over it within months and others can do nothing and have many months off work, and suffer for a much longer period of time.
Hi there was interested to see all the posts re frozen shoulder , a good physiotherapist and osteopath should be able to clear frozen shoulder , you need good hands on physio and manipulation , sheets of exercises do not work , you need to have treatment from someone who knows what they are doing ,find a good physio an osteopath sorry the nhs was no help to me at all , had to go privately , but it worked ,good luck
This is the second time I have had frozen shoulder.The first time was four years ago in my left arm, I now have it in my right arm which is much worse as work on a key board and am forced into using it at work all the time. My experiences are very similar to everyone elses ie the excruciating pain If I knock my arm, the
constant ache in my shoulder,shooting pains in my arm and neck. The worst thing is the fact that doctors seem to know very little about the condition and offer anti inflammation drugs or cortizone injection which do nothing to help. I have tried acupuncture but this actually seemed to make it worse for twenty four hours afterwards so stopped.
The only things that makes the pain bearable are pain killers - walking around rather than staying in one position - hot baths and sometimes a hot water bottle .As for sleeping it is more or less impossible for more than half an hour at a time but it helps if I tuck a pillow under my arm and sleep on the good side or sleep on my back with my arm elevated by a pillow.
I really feel for anyone who has suffered this condition - not only is it painful and depressing but you get little sympathy from others because there is no outward sign of damage.
Lack of sleep sends you cranky and the debilitating pain causes serious sense of humour failure - I feel really miserable most of the time and hardly able to work yet I am loathe to take time off sick due to the unsympathetic attitude of my employer towards illness.
The only thing that keeps me going is that I know it improves with time as I have had it before and it followsa prescribed patter before it gets better. Also I have been referred to a specialist by my GP which didn't happen last time so maybe there is something that can be done.....
I can't help thinking that the first thing that needs to be done is to ditch the term 'Frozen Shoulder'. It gives the impression of a 'bit of a stiff shoulder' and no impression at all of pain and disablement. "Frozen Shoulder' doesn't in anyway transmit to work colleagues, managers, neighbours, friends and acquaintances the suicidal agony suffered as a result of this truly hellish condition. Were it merely frozen it would be bearable - people learn to cope with one arm - indeed, I have become adept at transferring my dominancy from right to left - it is the agony, the searing pain, the inability to sleep and the sheer torture of this condition that goes unrecognised. Many are the nights I have sat up sobbing in torment, drugged with every available medicine, plotting the least messy way of ending my wretchedness. Calling this purgatory 'Frozen Shoulder' is like telling someone with an open fracture that they have a 'prominent bone'. We don't want to go round saying we have adhesive capsulitis, but I think we could come up with something more accurate than 'frozen shoulder'. Any suggestions?