# How many deal with Frozen Shoulder?



## Rickytree (Mar 10, 2009)

Over the winter, I have been doin alot of rotten on the couch. In the recline position. Well I would put my arms behind my head and watch the telly. I would go and put my arms down and they felt like they were stuck. Also it hurt abit. Went to the massage therapist and she tells me "You got frozen shoulder" I says " Is that the medical term?" joking. She tells me to just work it out. I am wonderin if anyone here has had or deals with this injury?


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## Kate Butler (Mar 10, 2009)

Yes, but a real case of frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis) will put you on the floor wishing you were dead if you move it the wrong way.

I had it for 3 years (average time is 6 to 12 months) and could not raise my arm high enough to put something in the pocket of my pants. Once you've had it, you will never have it again in that shoulder and it is much more common in women than in men. I have regained about 85% use of the shoulder (after another 2 years) with a lot of work to keep it limbered up.

Here is a link:

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q="frozen+shoulder"&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8


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## Rickytree (Mar 10, 2009)

Kate Butler said:


> Once you've had it, you will never have it again in that shoulder
> Sorry I don't understand. Is it like a cold virus that you never have the same cold twice?


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## Kate Butler (Mar 10, 2009)

It's as if having it once confers some sort of immunity - but only in the same shoulder - you could still have it happen to the other shoulder.

I was all set for surgery because they suspected rotator cuff injury, until I decided to wait it out after the various tests didn't show specific rotator damage. It was an awful few years, but doesn't bother anymore.

It made it plenty damned hard to start and use a big saw, but the doctor told me that as long as I could stand the pain, I wasn't going to make it any worse and that the exercise was good for it.


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## Rickytree (Mar 10, 2009)

Kate Thanks alot for your post and the site. I put it in my fav's. I find it very hard to do bench press but it has been getting better. I think I have a very mild case. It is more annoying than very painful. It just feels like i have no strength when throwing the wood around. Thanks again!


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## ntsarborist (Mar 10, 2009)

never had a problem with the shoulder but the back is a whole different story.


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## arbadacarba (Mar 11, 2009)

I dislocated my right shoulder about fifty times when I was in my early teens ( one of many skiing injuries!). Finally had the thing tucked ,drilled,rethreaded etc. and it was okay until my late thirties. Then it started to freeze on me. Tried lots of things but the best was a girlfriend who had almost finished a three year shiatsu course. She loosened up the muscles between my neck and my mid shoulder both on top and at the back. There is one small muscle under your shoulder blade that seems to knot really badly. Once the knots are out of this then everything else seems to relax. This girl was hot, but the massage therapy was even hotter! Later on I found another massage therapist that was so good that she could fix me up in five minutes. If they have the touch, there's nothing like it. There is also a book called "Shiatsu and Stretching" that identifies the pressure points and some pretty good exercises you can do yourself.


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## Rickytree (Mar 11, 2009)

arbadacarba said:


> This girl was hot, but the massage therapy was even hotter! Later on I found another massage therapist that was so good that she could fix me up in five minutes. If they have the touch, there's nothing like it. There is also a book called "Shiatsu and Stretching" that identifies the pressure points and some pretty good exercises you can do yourself.



Thanks for that! Oh what's the hot one doing now or should I say Who?


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## arbadacarba (Mar 11, 2009)

Lost touch with her a couple of years back but things are probably the same - boys and girls! ( She even got hit on by a girl when we were out celebrating her birthday )


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## treemandan (Mar 11, 2009)

*Ricky needs a rub-a dub*

Man, that chit sounds nasty. I hope its not that buddy. Having your arms up like that after being active is sure to cause some stiffness. Try this:









Basically from this position push your hand to the floor, well maybe not that far. It pulls real good. Also having someone twist your arm behind your back is a treat. Just go slow and as far as possible. 

Always good to have some help and a massage from a pretty girl but I have to say I fired the pretty girl and brought in an ape man to do the job she couldn't. She was cute and real sweet but I had to let her go, I wish her the best. 

Funny thing, before I go to place I go now to have work done I used to get this big, fat LESBIAN to Raulph me. That is some deep tissue chit right there and deisgned to tear out old scar tissue. I never had it so good. I recommend that for everybody but you don't have to have a lesbian do it.

One thing to try to rememebr when strecthing is that you can get more of a pull if you stretch over a fulcrum, a lot more of a pull. I will say right now that you WILL hurt yourself if you do what I tell you BUT if that is not what you had in mind then you should go back to the couch. I have lent some of these things to people who have brought them back with tears... of joy.

Now Ricky, don't get to excited.


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## treemandan (Mar 11, 2009)

the rollers are real good for the spine, just lay on it and noises come out. The white styrofoam one should only be used be those "seasoned". Lacross balls and golf balls these days. I blew out a skate wheel with my spine and flattened a tennis ball with a hip.
I dare anyone to stuff a lacross ball under there hip socket and roll around. Great stuff.


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## Rickytree (Mar 11, 2009)

TreeManDan thanks for the post! Nice to see you cleaned yourself up for the pic! HaHa. Hey what in tarn nation is the long black dohickey for and how to use it? Your right I need to stretch it out. My shoulder for now! Appreciate it!


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## Rickytree (Mar 11, 2009)

arbadacarba said:


> Lost touch with her a couple of years back but things are probably the same - boys and girls! ( She even got hit on by a girl when we were out celebrating her birthday )



Man I so got to get my a$$ up to BC. Sound too good to be true.


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## treemandan (Mar 11, 2009)

Rickytree said:


> TreeManDan thanks for the post! Nice to see you cleaned yourself up for the pic! HaHa. Hey what in tarn nation is the long black dohickey for and how to use it? Your right I need to stretch it out. My shoulder for now! Appreciate it!



You hold the ends and stick a body part between the golf ball and sqeeze. Neck, legs by youself, a real hoot with a helper.


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## treemandan (Mar 11, 2009)

I know, the same clothes everyday, the pants are half dirty but my long-johns are clean... I think.

Just stay away from that Swedish massage crap, its for girls or guys that think they are girls.


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## nmurph (Mar 16, 2009)

Ricky,
go see an orthopedic surgeon. honestly, would you let the teller at your bank give you accounting advise? you may have frozen shoulder or any of several other problems. bone spurs become more common as we age and especially in people who are active or do lots of lifting. as the tendons move back and forth across the spur they errode the tissue. what starts as relatively minor surgery to reshape a bone, with a couple of weeks of desk duty, turns into 9 months to 1 year down time with a rotator cuff repair. ask me how i know.


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## Kate Butler (Mar 16, 2009)

*absolutely*



nmurph said:


> Ricky,
> go see an orthopedic surgeon. honestly, would you let the teller at your bank give you accounting advise? you may have frozen shoulder or any of several other problems. bone spurs become more common as we age and especially in people who are active or do lots of lifting. as the tendons move back and forth across the spur they errode the tissue. what starts as relatively minor surgery to reshape a bone, with a couple of weeks of desk duty, turns into 9 months to 1 year down time with a rotator cuff repair. ask me how i know.



see an orthopod, BUT make sure he or she has a rep that does not include surgery for the sake of their next Ferrarri. I was scheduled for exploratory shoulder surgery BEFORE the diagnosis of frozen shoulder came in. From my reading, no surgery in the world can fix frozen shoulder - just time and (possibly, if you can stand it, PT).


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## nmurph (Mar 16, 2009)

actually, if the shoulder does not release with physical therapy, they will put you under and pull and tug on it until it does. they can also use that time to help remove some of the scar tissue.


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## CJ-7 (Mar 22, 2009)

> actually, if the shoulder does not release with physical therapy, they will put you under and pull and tug on it until it does. they can also use that time to help remove some of the scar tissue.



I crashed on my bicycle last fall while on vacation and dislocated my elbow, messed up my shoulder and knee. Ortho surgeon prescribed PT for shoulder, and when I still had limited range of motion after 8 weeks of PT, he diagnosed it as frozen shoulder. He said if it is still frozen after 3-6 months of PT, and if I want it fixed, he will go in and clean it up arthoscopically and while I am under he will bust it loose. Sounds like more than just a tug, he says they have to be careful not to break the arm while they are manipulating it. I will really have to think that one over if I get to that point.


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## pdqdl (Apr 6, 2009)

*To cut is to cure (an maxim only shared among doctors)*

It turns out that Frozen shoulder is a loosely defined problem; it seems to be a term applied to a lot of different conditions.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/frozenshoulder/a/frozenshoulder_2.htm

I had some "frozen shoulder" symptoms as a result of a minor sprain several years before. The Orthopedic surgeon was more than willing to do some surgical intervention, but he needed an MRI for better clarity on the problem.

When I took the MRI, they stuck me in that damn machine for 45 minutes, laying on my bad shoulder with my arm raised over my head. It was very uncomfortable; I spent the entire time wondering how well I would have fared in a Vietnamese POW camp. 

Here is the great part of this story: I spent so much time in the very worst position for my shoulder, it broke down all the adhesions in my shoulder, and I was effectively cured of my problems by taking the MRI! I can now spend the evening with my arms propped behind my head, watching TV, previously impossible.

I'm sure that is a very unusual outcome of this test, but I did escape the surgeon's knife. I would consider all therapy options before I went under the knife.


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## banjobart (Apr 6, 2009)

Three months of painful physical therapy thawed out my frozen shoulder three years ago. It was awful, I could not even get my wallet out of my pocket before the injections and manipulation therapy. It has been fine since, I make sure to keep it loose and not tear it up anymore.


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