OT: Frozen Shoulder

[BCS]

I've got one. After 2 months of whining, I finally went to see the orthopedist today. Got a steroid injection, some exercises and instructions about resuming lifting weights. Anyone out there ever have this? Want to know how long before I am pain free with normal range of motion. I got the usual "it is variable ..." from the doc.

Sucks getting old.

[firerescuefin]

Remembered seeing this on here

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=85369&highlight=frozen+shoulder

[BCS]

^^Thanks

[Fixed]

get well soon best wishes on a speedy recovery doc
cheers

[tribuddha]

I had it after my Ironman ( actually during , but had a series of shots to get through it) it took me 18 months and months of PT to recover. The hardest part was just taking the time off from everything while it got better.. BTW the doc was dead on when he gave me the timeline. good luck
I never did get all my range of motion but real close.. for a while I couldn't take off a t-shirt it hurt so bad and no range of motion..

[Bob Loblaw]

Shoulder problems here too. It's a complicated joint with lots of possible points of failure.

I used to think mine was tendinditis someplace in the anterior deltoid, but it's been three years so something in there is buggered up nicely. Getting old does blow.

BL

[RPS]

Anyone out there ever have this? Want to know how long before I am pain free with normal range of motion. I got the usual "it is variable ..." from the doc.

Sucks getting old.
Yeah, twice.

When it happened to my right shoulder about 10 years ago it took about 18 months to get better – and that’s from the time I noticed a problem more serious than a normal ache. My left shoulder is just now starting to get slightly better but it has a long ways to go. I still can’t reach behind to take anything out of jersey pockets. My range of motion is slightly improved but not enough to make much functional difference yet. And it’s been going on for well over a year now. It’s a PITA because it sometimes makes doing simple projects take twice as long.

As stated in the other thread, the difference for me this time is that I also have calcification in the rotator cuff tendon (probably due to car accident in May last year). And I really have no clue if this will interfere with normal frozen-shoulder recovery timeline. The only thing that has changed since the other thread almost three months ago is that my shoulder pops a lot more. Wishful thinking on my part is that it’s a good sign that the calcification is breaking up. I don't recall my right shoulder popping at all when it was frozen -- but that was a long time ago and I may not remember correctly. That's another sign of getting old. ;)

[thwart]

Usually calcification in tendons come from long-standing inflammation (frequently from overuse, like pitching a baseball, for example... more common in your right shoulder if you're right-handed). Popping and clicking in your shoulder can be from those thickened areas of tendon sliding through their areas of travel. In the shoulder some of these areas are tight spaces... and get tighter when you raise your arm over your head.

[RPS]

P.S. -- My wife also had both shoulders frozen, about 2 to 3 years apart. I asked her this morning and she thinks the first one took about a year and a half to clear, and the second maybe a little sooner.

[RPS]

Usually calcification in tendons come from long-standing inflammation (frequently from overuse, like pitching a baseball, for example... more common in your right shoulder if you're right-handed). Popping and clicking in your shoulder can be from those thickened areas of tendon sliding through their areas of travel. In the shoulder some of these areas are tight spaces... and get tighter when you raise your arm over your head.
Thanks thwart. For what it’s worth I’m right handed and it’s in my left shoulder. Other than car accident with seatbelt over left shoulder I've had a few bike crashes where I landed hard on my left elbow. Those made my shoulder sore for some time but I got over it years ago, so I'm thinking it wasn't related.

The thing that appears so odd to me is that the shadow on the X-rays is so well defined, in the shape of a small oval much like a capsule one would swallow as medicine. It doesn’t have blurry edges as I would have expected for something that would build up “somewhat randomly” inside the fibers of the tendon.

I’ll probably go back to the specialist to have follow-up X-rays taken in a few months if conditions don’t improve faster. I know X-rays are much safer today but I hate having them taken when the outcome isn’t going to change much of anything. That plus I had more than my share taken last year.

[DfCas]

My right shoulder became frozen about 5 years ago. Cortisone injections only helped for a short period of time, and aggresive PT caused an impingement,leading to a therapy of rest. In the end they did a 'scope surgery to clean it uo and that helped for about a month before the soreness returned. At this time its about 80% in range of motion and is moderately sore.

My left one started to freeze about a year ago and I decided against aggressive treatment. It's still sore and limited, but not as severe as the right was.

The doc's said because I am diabetic that we tend to have more severe and stubborn frozen shoulders.

[Kane]

which means that the answer depends on so many factors.
Shoulder experts are few and far between. It is a very complicated joint.
Tips:
-ziplock gallon bag + ice + water for 20 min. under the shoulder area of your T-shirt. Many times per day
-find an ART pt or dc to do some tissue work on the area.
-MRI will tell you if you have a tear causing the loss of motion.
-The movement is about 60% humerous & 40% scapula so the subcapularis/serratus interface needs to be addressed.
Ask your therapist if he/she works on that area and if they don't know what you are talking about, they are not an expert.
-The superficial fascia is the lattice tissue under the skin that is the anchor point for the arteries, veins, nerves and lymphatics. It is glued up and you need to have someone skin roll the area.
Good Luck.