Posts
Frozen Shoulder has revealed to me surprising opportunities for creative new ways to trigger the Zap. Here's one I'd never have thought of.
The other day I was in the kitchen; arm very sensitive so I asked handy stray person nearby to pull my polyester jacket over my head. Great plan, but also had the effect of charging me up with several thousand volts of static electricity. Next, I reach out and touch the tap. ZAP goes a great bolt of electricity from my right hand to the tap, YANK goes my arm, and YIKES goes my yell. Followed by a florid stream of colourful words I won't repeat here.
The immediate effect is of course several minutes of woeful moaning and groaning, and the horrified looks on everybody's faces.
The longer term effect is perhaps more serious. It means you begin consciously and unconsciously protecting your arm. You begin holding your arm in close to your body to reduce the possibility of future Zaps. You restrict shoulder movement, and thereby maybe worsen the freezing effect.
One symptom of Frozen Shoulder is the loss of fluid in the joint. This increases inflammation, joint lining damage, and subsequent scaring.
Now I'm actively trying to ensure I use my arm instead of leaving it permanently pinned to my side.
And while doing that I'm now doubly careful when taking off polyester clothing.
More Zap stories to come.
The pain is unbelievable, isn't it? I did natural childbirth 3x, no drugs, and Frozen Shoulder rivals that. In fact, I'd take the childbirth pain. It may be intense, but at least it's over within a reasonable amount of time.
ReplyDeleteThose unexpected movements are indescribably painful. My posture is still messed up from the weird ways I would hold myself in order to compensate and also protect my arm.
An update - since I posted about this, my FS is much much better. Definitely way past the extreme pain stages. I am now lifting small 5lb weights and continuing to stretch and contort myself to regain my movement. I am, however, still paranoid and can't quite put the nagging fear of a relapse to rest. I mean, I've had it twice now in the past few years. WTH?
Good luck to you... Capzaisin helped somewhat for me. I liked the liquid you can tap on, rather than the cream. (I think that's how you spell it, it's a brand name)