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Frozen Shoulder!

On 9th June I had a little bit of pain in my left shoulder.  By the time Belladrum came round, at the end of July, my left arm was having some trouble being raised above my head to tie up the tent door.  I Googled it numerous times, went to YouTube to have a look at what they were saying it could maybe be on Bob and Brad channel (the most famous physiotherapists on the internet (in their opinion)). 

Then after a couple of weeks of struggling to sleep and waking in pain everytime I rolled onto my left in the night, it was finally time to make an appointment at the medical centre.  🙈

The diagnostic physiotherapist had me do various moves and tell me if it hurts and it was no pain, no pain, no pain, and then eee-ouch accompanied by a a jump in the air. 😂

The leaflets she gave me say different stage periods;

  • the painful freezing stage lasts approximately 3 months (or 2-9 months), I’m in my 11th week so I’m hoping for the first leaflet’s timescale!
  • the reduced pain frozen stage lasts 3-6 months (4-12 months)
  • the thawing stage lasts 9-18 months (5-26 months!!)

Oh and both leaflets kindly tell me 60% of people still had stiffness 7 years after and 20% of people develop it in the other shoulder within 5-7 years!

They can give me a steroid injection if the painkillers don’t help me sleep. 

So why am I waffling on about all this on my crafting website/blog?  I won’t be able to make any lampshades until I at least get through this pain stage and will have to assess how easy it is to do when I’m in the next stage.

Fairies and baubles should be fine as I’m mostly doing all that with my right hand and can rest my left.  I’ll maybe try needlefelting some pictures too as that’s something else I should be able to do. 

I dropped into the Alchemist Gallery on my way back from the physio to let them know, as they sometimes get  requests for custom orders I won’t be able to take on for the foreseeable.

Knitting small light items seems fine if I rest my shoulder on the arm of the chair and take breaks.

Luckily we both have automatic cars with power assisted steering so driving has been fine (touch wood) and working in the office is fine as my arm is resting on the desk.  Getting out on my standup paddleboard again this year is looking unlikely, given it’s currently blowing a hoolie, raining and cold it’s not like I could have got out anyway.

If you’ve had it before then please feel free to share your experience. 

30 comments

  1. Oh no, I am so very very very sorry! I had it, and I am not sure you want to know… I can give you the gory details, but unfortunately it lasted for a very long time, about 18 months, with the acute phase going for 6. It was absolutely awful, I would not wish it on anyone (well, actually maybe a couple of people…). Nothing helped. Nothing. I self referred to the musculoskeletal service, but in the acute phase they could not touch me. They could have cut a tendon, but I did not want that. Painkillers were like fresh water, I spent six month putting together maybe two hours of sleep per night. It was absolutely horrid. I was spending the night crying in pain. I kept working throughout. Eventually, it went away, and when the acute phase was over I could start physiotherapy, which made recovery very quick. If you are able to start physio now, you may be lucky and stop it before it gets really bad, it could happen. And the good news is, this was almost ten years ago, and the other arm stayed fine. Best of luck, I will be keeping my fingers crossed!

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    • I’m at the acute phase so she says there’s nothing she can do at the moment unless I want the steroid injection. I’ve dug a hot water bottle out the cupboard and filled with hot water as she said it may help. I’m basically trying to get 5 hours sleep by being in bed from 9.30pm to 8am, so I allow for all the times I wake up or can’t get comfortable. I’ve a cuddly polar bear that props my arm when I lie on my right but when I nod off I roll over and wake up. So frustrating. Good to hear you haven’t had it in the other arm. If this was in my right arm I’d be useless…so at least it’s in my left. Just a shame I normally sleep on my left.

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      • well, hang on in there! I had it on my right arm, I found some relief pulling it down 90 degree (with me bending, or better lying on the bed on my stomach), holding a weight in my hand, or just swinging it madly. I’ve done some crazy things. I hope the pain keeps manageable – sending good vibes ❤️

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      • yes, I was doing that to cope with the pain – pulling the arm “out” of the shoulder (obviously it wasn’t coming out, but to give you the idea) did help lessen the pain (though it was only a temporary relief), and distract me from fixating on the pain, which was relentless. But it wasn’t exercise, this “pulling” action. Obviously do follow your doctor/physio’s advice!

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      • actually, uncanny, but it is exactly as kayak2016blog describes (much more accurately than I could), with the addition that I also did that while on the bed lying on my stomach. It might have been a recommendation of the physio (the GP advised I go privately, this was when it was starting, but in spite of having several sessions, there was no stopping it, and it continued to progress).

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      • I had a go today not holding anything. Watched a Bob and Brad video of some things to do during the freezing stage. There are already some positions they showed that I can no longer get into but dangling and rocking myself and letting my arm swing is tolerable. My pain is down to my wrist and my left hand is already a challenge to stretch my pinky, ring and middle finger out, they naturally want to curl almost like I’m holding a fat knitting needle. I manage to knit for an hour and spin for an hour. I was thinking maybe this will push me to give watercolour and pastel painting another go as that’s all right hand only stuff

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      • I am so very sorry Liz – for me the pain was always mostly in the shoulder, nothing happened to my hand. Just take it one day at a time, and the meager consolation is that it is your non dominant side. Sending good thoughts ❤️

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  5. Ouch, that’s rough. I have a friend who is going to physical therapy for the same thing. It happened to her from an injury at work. I don’t think it took as long as you say for her to start feeling better. However, maybe I’m wrong so I’m going to ask her about it.

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  7. Not a frozen shoulder but a torn rotator cuff from one of the dogs yanking my arm backwards. It took about 3 years for it to heal. John became very good at doing up bras. I had 4 steroid injections, the fourth because it was the end of lockdown and an operation wasn’t really feasible with the hospitals being so busy. The injections were a dog send! Take them if they are offered. Patience, carefulness and time are all you need, shoulders are funny things not having a joint. Good luck!!

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  8. I developed frozen shoulder years ago, driving thousands of miles across the country, nearing home. I was headed immediately to a Quaker gathering in New England. A physical therapist friend there commented that I seemed a little uncomfortable (ya think???), and recommended bending over at the waist, letting the affected arm hang, and swinging it gently – not enough for the pain to go into overdrive, just enough to keep the joint moving. It was magic! Within a week things were much better; within a month it was as if it had never happened. Now I do that at the first sign of trouble. That doesn’t mean it will work for you – every shoulder is different – but maybe it will help? (She also suggested ice, I think, but we were at a conference and ice wasn’t easily found, so I didn’t ever do that.)

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    • I did the same during the acute phase to lessen the pain, but it was only transitory. Sadly I spent 6 months in the acute phase (the whole thing took 18 months from start to finish). Glad to know it worked for you!

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    • I watched a Bob and Brad video on YouTube today about things to do during the freezing stage and they suggested this too. So I had a go. Because the pain is reaching my wrist now it is painful on the top of my lower arm but bearable and not the agony of moving my shoulder. I tried it just with the weight of my arm, no weight or can of beans as it was tender enough just the weight of it. I’ll do it a few times each day. I’d love to be one of those stats that it happens in a quicker time phase. Bob and Brad were also saying up to 2 years for recovery.

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  10. My stepdaughter had/has this. It is indeed extremely painful and lasts a long time. My physical therapist daughter says it’s one of the worst conditions to treat because it is so painful and lasts so long. I am so sorry for you and wish you strength and endurance as you cope with this for the next months/year.

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