Frozen shoulder

[bgriz]

Has anyone ever been inflicted with adhesive capsulitis aka frozen shoulder?
It's quite brutal, painful and loss of range of motion. I have it on my non dominant side, now my "good" side is starting. Other than taking Aleve, physical therapy which I am doing, there isn't much you can do except wait it out which can take up to 2 years

I did decline a cortisone shot to the joint that the Ortho offered, I might rethink that.

Please share your experience if you've had this, anything that worked for you, and how long did it take to resolve.

[jjnd08]

I was having problems with my rotator cuff a couple years back when I was power lifting (I weighed 170 lbs and I could bench 385 lbs). My doctor gave me these anti-inflammatory pills, and they got me back to almost 100%.

I had to give up the power lifting though.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by jjnd08

I was having problems with my rotator cuff a couple years back when I was power lifting (I weighed 170 lbs and I could bench 385 lbs). My doctor gave me these anti-inflammatory pills, and they got me back to almost 100%.

I had to give up the power lifting though.

All humans have to give up power lifting eventually.

[jjnd08]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

All humans have to give up power lifting eventually.

True. But I had to do it almost right when I turned 27! I was really hoping to make it a few more years, and get my bench to that 405 mark; because benching 8 plates just looks plain awesome!

[77T]

Hope your pain responds to the Aleve. I did not know surgery wouldn't work.

[KKB]

I've had it in my right shoulder, and then about 3 years later in my left shoulder. Cortisone shot didn't help, Aleve didn't help. Fortunately there was no pain unless I extended my shoulder too far. Once, when walking, I reflexively raised my arm above my head to brush away a giant spider web I had walked under. The AGONY! The Ortho gave me a bunch of stretching exercises to do which helped a lot, but both shoulders took about a year to resolve completely. Just have to grin an bear it, I suppose . . .

[bgriz]

Originally Posted by KKB

I've had it in my right shoulder, and then about 3 years later in my left shoulder. Cortisone shot didn't help, Aleve didn't help. Fortunately there was no pain unless I extended my shoulder too far. Once, when walking, I reflexively raised my arm above my head to brush away a giant spider web I had walked under. The AGONY! The Ortho gave me a bunch of stretching exercises to do which helped a lot, but both shoulders took about a year to resolve completely. Just have to grin an bear it, I suppose . . .

Yes, I understand completely, nothing helps. Did you have decreased range of motion in the shoulder? Yes PT exeercises help a little, but a year to resolve seems the norm Problem is I can't sleep with the pain, and don't want narcotic pain pills if I can avoid it. When I asked, the Ortho dr made me feel like a druggie for asking. I've never taken a narcotic in my entire life so I couldn't understand that reaction and lecture. I just said forget it.

[elcompa]

Yeah, I had some real issues with frozen shoulder. Wife actually had to drive me to and from work for a while as I had a manual transmission.

Take the corticosteroid shot in the shoulder. My problem was that I waited and likely made it worse. While Percocet's are fun, use them sparingly...and just as needed in the beginning until the swelling goes down.

Different for everyone. Mine was horrible for 6 months. then took about a year and a half to go back to true normal.

Lots of range of motion exercises, stretching...NO WEIGHTS for a while. IIRC, I also did a lot of heat/cold treatment. Not sure if it helped or not, bout it did give me something to do instead of crying.

[Art 1]

Originally Posted by bgriz

Has anyone ever been inflicted with adhesive capsulitis aka frozen shoulder?
It's quite brutal, painful and loss of range of motion. I have it on my non dominant side, now my "good" side is starting. Other than taking Aleve, physical therapy which I am doing, there isn't much you can do except wait it out which can take up to 2 years

I did decline a cortisone shot to the joint that the Ortho offered, I might rethink that.

Please share your experience if you've had this, anything that worked for you, and how long did it take to resolve.

Yes, cortisone didn't help. What stunk was I was very good at baseball, not a good thing to happen when you play outfield. Ruined that idea.

[unclesallie]

Originally Posted by bgriz

Yes, I understand completely, nothing helps. Did you have decreased range of motion in the shoulder? Yes PT exeercises help a little, but a year to resolve seems the norm Problem is I can't sleep with the pain, and don't want narcotic pain pills if I can avoid it. When I asked, the Ortho dr made me feel like a druggie for asking. I've never taken a narcotic in my entire life so I couldn't understand that reaction and lecture. I just said forget it.

The Docs are coming under increasing scrutiny and pressure to stop with all
the narcotics(hydrocodone, oxycontin, vicodin) and the latest substitute is tramadol. So that's likely why you got the 3rd degree. That said, (I'm not a doc), the Doc should be ashamed of himself for the lecture part....I mean if you need a pain killer you should get one, with the warning that you might get addicted and have a tough time getting off the drug(s)........

BTW, I would try the injections, they do work for the most part.

[KKB]

Originally Posted by bgriz

Yes, I understand completely, nothing helps. Did you have decreased range of motion in the shoulder? Yes PT exeercises help a little, but a year to resolve seems the norm Problem is I can't sleep with the pain, and don't want narcotic pain pills if I can avoid it. When I asked, the Ortho dr made me feel like a druggie for asking. I've never taken a narcotic in my entire life so I couldn't understand that reaction and lecture. I just said forget it.

During the time the shoulders were "frozen", I did have decreased range of motion. Any attempt to extend the arm beyond a certain point would cause pain. The stretching exercises increased the range of motion, but moving the arm past the extended limit still produced the same amount of pain. After the frozen shoulder ran it's course, I think my range of motion of the shoulders seems to be a little less than it was before the problem, but I can't be sure. Luckily, there was little/no pain while sleeping so I didn't need any narcotics.

[Rock]

So what causes something like this?
Is it related to 'overuse' - as in intensive exercise - or to an injury of some sort?
It is interesting that it can apparently resolve eventually.
Medicine is now suggesting some 'arthritic' conditions may be virus related.
Best wishes for an early recovery.

[bgriz]

Originally Posted by Rock

So what causes something like this?
Is it related to 'overuse' - as in intensive exercise - or to an injury of some sort?
It is interesting that it can apparently resolve eventually.
Medicine is now suggesting some 'arthritic' conditions may be virus related.
Best wishes for an early recovery.

It can sometimes develop after shoulder surgery, injury, and some with diabetes and thyroid disease are susceptible. However like myself, the vast majority get it for unknown reasons. I haven't had any of the conditions i listed. It's bizarre really.