r/frozenshoulder

Hi everyone, I am currently in month 3/4 in this ordeal and while the major zaps and super painful episodes are decreasing with a little more mobility I think and moreso pain isolated with stretching. I am still wondering if this is really self limiting and most people make a full recovery? Just getting discouraged and annoyed with this. Still can’t put my hand behind my back and not sure when this all starts correcting itself in a material way. Thank you in advance!!

I had a shoulder injury leading to FS about a year ago. Despite multiple cortisone shots, relentless PT, and backing off aggressive activity, I’m still having a lot of pain and only somewhat limited mobility, which makes me think I’m stuck in the freezing stage for a year now.

The problem is I love being active and want to continue playing pickleball and lifting weights. I’m fine with modifying or doing less but no activity is just not feasible for my mental health.

Wondering if anyone kept doing sports and weight lifting throughout FS including the freezing / painful stage. On one hand it’s preserving my mobility and strength but on the other hand I’m wondering if it’s stalling my healing process. It’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation!!

Full disclosure: I lean toward having health anxiety and am quick to jump to worst case scenarios. That being said, does everyone with FS have the same thing I have where you wonder sometimes if this is the right diagnosis or if there’s something else secretly wrong (like a major tear or nerve injury or tumor!?) I think it just feels like, how can FS hurt THIS BAD and last THIS LONG and be THIS HARD to make any progress with?! So then my brain starts to fill in like “what if it’s really something else and you’re treating it wrong or letting too much time pass when you should be having surgery” etc etc. Anyway just wondering if anyone’s brain is like mine haha

Ok I am in the freezing phase and wow….this feels like a really unfair present that the hormone drop after 2 years of failed IVF has gifted me.

Heat has been my best friend but taking a microwave heating pad to work doesn’t work because work microwaves smell…but plug in is odd at a desk and the wireless ones all suck.

What did you get that made a difference for you I am grateful for all the advice and hopefully we can bless some other ladies too.
Litocaine patches?
Kinsio tape?
Hot showers/baths/hot tubs?
What are we doing for sports bras?
General advice for getting dressed??
Are we really buying dressing sticks?
Should I get a terry bathroom because it hurts to wrap myself in a towel and dry myself?
How do you wash your hair? Are we all just Dino hands bent over in the shower?
What are we doing for exercise so we don’t just wither away while our arm is basically useless?
I feel like most girls I have talked to all got frozen shoulder on their dominant hand which just feels cruel….was that the case for you too? How did you compensate?
What other questions have I not even realized I need answers to as my range of motion slowly but surely gets less and less.
Yes I did do the cortisone shot - waiting for that to kick in and praying it makes a substantial difference.

I was so happy that I had a full nights sleep (well, I still woke up to change positions but wasn’t fully awake as I usually am) but it appears to have just been a one off bc here I am again awake at 4am with my friends Voltarin and Heating Pad. I’m in month 5. It’s been 4 weeks and 3 days since my cortisone shot. I have a follow up appt at the 6 week mark and I suppose will have a second cortisone shot. If I compare how I am now to how I was before the first injection, there are some improvements (less pain at rest during day, night waking now from stiffness and discomfort rather than sharp stabs, slight increase in passive ROM) but I think the added component at this point is how over it I am, and how disheartening it feels to know this could go on for years.

Hi all, I had arthroscopic capsular release for frozen folder 5 1/2 weeks ago. During the procedure a partial tear of my rotator cuff was found - it was less than 10% tear so it wasn’t treated at all.

I’m wondering if anyone else who’s had this particular procedure can give me an idea of recovery progress. I’m doing my physio exercises exactly as directed. I’m still getting pain at night and struggling to find a position that’s comfortable to sleep and my mobility really is not much better - particularly with trying to put my hand behind my back, eg doing up bra strap etc. surgeon said after the procedure that he had managed to get much better mobility in my shoulder, I’m due to be visit surgeon beginning of September.

Thanks

Hey guys! I thought I’d come here for help and hopefully doesn’t give me more anxiety. I had shoulder surgery about five months ago to fix instability. I had dislocated my shoulder twice and knew it was time to get it fixed. I’m a 23 year old male so assumed I would bounce back relatively fine. My surgeon performed a labrum repair, remplissage, and joint capsule tightening.

Over the course of my recovery I had terrible shoulder stiffness and could hardly move my shoulder. I had to do aggressive PT stretching in order to break up scar tissue. I recently lowered my dose of diclofenac sodium and with that I have started noticing that my joint feels much looser.

I am kind of paranoid that I may have overstretched my joint capsule and made my joint looser then it should be from prolonged stretching to help with scar tissue.

I don’t notice any pain, swelling or deep aches. I occasionally notice some clicking and crunching noises when I move my shoulder but nothing that brings pain.

Overall I just feel a sudden feeling of feeling loose. Anyone maybe know why?d

I had frozen shoulder surgery 8 days ago and it went really well. My doctor said that he was able to get 100% ROM while I was under.

I have been absolutely religious with doing at home physical therapy 4x a day ~10 minutes per session starting at 2am the morning after surgery (less than 24h post-op). My MIL is a retired Orthopedic NP and told me to try to get my PT to 100% ASAP, so I’ve been trying. Important to note - the earliest actual PT appointment I was able to find is this Monday (10-days post op) so that is in the calendar already.

My anxiety - some things I can do with absolutely no issue. However, some things I cannot do because I still have the “frozen” pain when I try to move certain ways.

I also want to just throw out there that I have remotely 0 surgery pain - honestly I took pain meds for maybe 1 day before cutting it off cold turkey because I really wasn’t in any pain. I have a rather high pain tolerance apparently. The pain I have is not surgery pain - it’s that same frozen feeling.

Anyone else that has had the surgery - is this typical? Or is it possible I’ve re-froze in certain spots? How long after surgery did you get full ROM back and/or feel 100% better?

Hey Everyone, just want to share, today I’m back on the tennis court after my muscle tear in January followed by a secondary frozen shoulder. It’s been a tough 8 months, but my ROM is 98% back and pain free. Just want to share with you there’s light at the end of the tunnel! I did secretome injections to help with the tear, but for the frozen shoulder what helped me the most was the hydrodilatation procedure I did 3 months ago. That probably helped my ROM from 50% to 80%. It helped the most with gaining back the ROM & with the pain. I also did physiotherapy weekly & focused shockwave therapy (not radial shockwave, Focused Shockwave).

I was diagnosed about 1.5 years ago, had the condition for maybe 2 months before that. Long story short: I haven't been doing my stretches or exercise as much as I should, I do it sporadically, but two days ago I stood up to go to bed and stretched upwards with my arms, and stretched and stretched... and realized I was at full extension with my bad shoulder for the 1st time!!

I still feel some mild stiffness, but have full range of motion without pain and am going to ramp up my exercise routine very carefully!! There is hope!

I’ve tried pretty much every NSAID I can and no matter how much I take the pain doesn’t lessen at all. I’m feeling so hopeless since I can’t get a cortisone shot because of my age and work has been unbearable with my pain. I got moved to another station with no lifting at all but the pain didn’t go down and my manager was telling other people he won’t move me unless I bring a note while telling me he would move me if I tell him I can’t do it(which I did today). The only reason I got moved today is apparently because my coworker was given an ultimatum that she could switch with me for the day or he would just keep me at my normal station. I feel so horrible because I know she doesn’t like doing my job because she has bad arthritis and only did it so I wouldn’t have to. I don’t know what I can even do at my job with my current pain and it’s getting frustrating telling people all of the things I should be doing which I’ve already tried. It feels like trying things multiple times isn’t good enough for some people and they keep insisting I need to just try ice or ibuprofen or icy hot every time they see me in pain even when I tell them it doesn’t reduce my pain. Everyone thinks they know what’s wrong with me and I’m just so tired of all the doctor’s visits and the advice. I feel so hopeless for the future and like I can’t stop hitting dead ends. I want to be able to enjoy my home life but the pain keeps coming back even on days off. Does anyone have any advice on ways I can reduce my pain? My range of motion usually only gets bad after work but improves after some rest so it’s not really my biggest concern.

I tore my rotator cuff playing Badminton with my kid. I was a bit late to see physio as I had no idea what was wrong.

It seemed to be getting better. Then shooting pains, mobility not improving etc. Quite surprised that my physio missed it tbh. I tried to continue the exercises and stretches, but it was hard.

I also tried red light therapy (NIR) which I do think helped a bit. Carried on with a shoulder exercise group (for the rotator cuff) and things do seem to be getting better.

But the sleep sucks. Especially in this heatwave. And then I sprained and slightly fractured my ankle. So, another part of me hurting (worst in the morning)

I'm feeling so *old* all of a sudden. Like how many bits of me are having issues right now.

Just venting , really. Ugh.

Hi Everyone!

Firstly sending my sincerest wishes to all suffering with frozen shoulders for a very speedy recovery.

I started to experience pain in the shoulder 2-3 months ago and felt “zaps” of pain with certain movements.

I now have more mobility and less pain but the pain of reaching etc still can be there with less intensity. Also I cannot reach behind my back.

The MRI came back (and was done when the pain was more) with the diagnosis of adhesive capsulitis and tendinitis. While it seems fast based on everything I have read - this runs is course through the stages across 1-2 years.

Could I be in the frozen / thawing stage already? Also would the tendinitis have come first or vice versa. Would love to hear of others have had a quick move through subsequent stages or similar dual diagnosis? Thank you again everyone. Sending best wishes for good health and a speedy recovery!!

I had frozen shoulder in my right shoulder last year and ultimately had surgery for it. Now I’m starting to have very similar pain in my opposite shoulder, and I’m honestly a little nervous that I’m headed down the same road.

I’ve been doing the PT stretches I was given previously every day, hoping that keeping the shoulder moving will prevent it from getting worse. I’m not sure yet whether this is actually frozen shoulder again or something else, but the pain feels very familiar.

For those of you who have had frozen shoulder before:

• Did you develop it in the opposite shoulder later?
• Did you recognize the symptoms early?
• Were you able to prevent it from becoming a full frozen shoulder?
• Did PT, stretching, injections, or anything else actually make a difference?

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who caught it early and was able to avoid surgery. I’m really hoping I can get ahead of this one!

47 yo male and not exactly sure why i got it but i did. i used to do oly lifting in my early 40's and have a slight labral tear in my left shoulder so not sure if that contributed - dr said they don't know what caused it. the earliest i could start PT was 2 more weeks away but i've been trying exercises i've been finding online and trying all sorts of things to deal with the pain - voltaren, meloxicam, salonpas patches, using a tens unit. i feel like the really "sharp" pains are less common - maybe it's my body compensating by not moving in ways that would cause them.

any suggestions on how to keep my attitude positive? i'm getting depressed b/c i can't really work out (at least upper body) and losing muscle makes me feel self-conscious about my body. it sounds like i can try another cortisone shot in mid-sept (last one didn't do anything though). at what point can i even entertain the idea of surgery? i really just want this over with :(

Looking into having MUA for bilateral FS in the thawing stage. Anyone go through this, how was the post-op recovery and PT? I hear you’re out of work for a week afterwards. Was it worth it to increase ROM? Any experience appreciated!

I’m 11 months out post cortisone shot. The shot took the pain off for about 3-4 months and what came back was soreness weakness sometimes numbness. The pain still comes and go but at least no more zingers nor shooting pain. I have continued to exercise with caution throughout thawing stage. Mostly lower body strength workouts and running. My ROM is 90% back but internal rotation and shoulder stability is shit. I can’t do planks, pushups, no bench press. I can push upwards and do thrusters and rows. That pretty much takes care of the upper back. I can’t figure out for the life of me how to do chest and core workouts. Are there any machine workouts that can isolate those things?

Is there a window where the injection is most likely to help?