Postscript

It's now 28 June, about a year since the onset of my frozen shoulder, and time for a final post.

I still have occasional mild ache, mostly at night. Rotator cuff is pretty good.  All up 98%, on those fronts I'd say.

However in the last 3 months or so I haven't made much progress on increasing my range of movement. Not bad, and quite functional, but not quite what it was once.

I now go to the gym a couple of times a week, concentrating on upper body strength. I avoid that masculine thing of hefting huge weights (as if I could).  But I have seen real improvement in my strength.

I can do more repetitions with greater weights. If you start a gym program, I highly recommend keeping notes of how much work you can do.  You'll be amazed at how much you can gain. If you record your achievements, it becomes visible, and you know the good it's doing you.

Farewell and good luck!

Progress

I haven't been in the mood for blogging, so this is quite out of date. So here's a quick update.
As of about three weeks ago I officially passed from the first stage - Freezing into the second stage - Frozen. 

The pain is largely gone thank goodness! And I've made noticeable gain in movement. I've been taking occasional photos of myself from behind, showing the limit of movement - lifting my right arm to the side. 

This shows progress:
9 Sep to 5 Oct I gained 5 degrees
19 Nov (now) another 15 degrees
Another 10 degrees and I'll be able to hold my arm parallel to the floor.

We've been working on the rotator cuff, which is touchy because it's easy to overdo it and go backwards.

Getting there!

Just too bloody bad about my hearing which looks like it's permanently packed up and headed west.

The Downward Spiral

From what I read, the causes of Frozen Shoulder can be hard to pin down, but in my case it started with a rotator cuff injury.


The next step is pain, leading to you deliberately or unconsciously limiting movement. Something also triggers inflammation which adds to the pain, and discourages movement even more.


Restricting movement leads to loss of muscle tone but importantly, also encourages the joint to dry up. There can be a substantial loss of lubricating fluid in the joint leading to.....further inflammation and more pain. So of course you respond by further limiting movement, and down you spiral.

The moral here? Don't give into the temptation to lock your arm by your side.  This doesn't mean exercising to excess. The rule of thumb is that you should not feel pain for more than about 15-30 minutes after exercise. Too much, or too vigorous exercise can cause make the problem worse so it can be a fine line.  More on exercises to come.

Progress hooray!

Last week was bad. This week is much better, which may be helped by the Naproxen.

I just compared a picture of my shoulder back on 9 Sep, and the difference is clear. I have undoubtedly gained a good degree of additional movement.  It also makes a mockery of my attempted system of measurement since that barely shows any improvement.

Meanwhile, check the harsh treatment system used by this practioner!!  I am so not going to him!  It's killing me just looking at it.

Checked my diary, and I'm now about 10 weeks into this. From what I've heard and read, that means I'm actually doing very well.  Some do much worse. 

Yesterday Monique told me how she'd been in hospital for a minor operation and in the next bed was woman writhing in agon she'd been admitted thinking she was having a heart attack, but it turned out she had mega dose of Frozen Shoulder.  Triggered, it seems, by another hospital stay for an ankle treatment which caused her to lie for too long on one side.

15% of people develop FS in both sides.  What an awful thought!  You'd be nearly crippled by such a condition.

Drugs

Feng warned me I'd have good weeks and bad weeks. Last week was a bad week. At my therapy I was feeling good, so we pushed the rotator cuff for the first time. A bit too hard, I think, and then a couple of days later I photographed the body building championships and carrying the heavy lens for a few hours probably didn't help.

Normally I dislike taking drugs. I have to hurt quite a bit to take pain killers, so the fact that I've chewed my way through a jumbo pack of Neurofin plus is a bad sign.  Then last week my father in law gave me a script for some serious anti inflammatory drugs.  I'm now taking Naproxen 500mg twice a day, and after three days, the signs are good.

It doesn't increase your range of movement, but controlling inflamation and therefore pain is a very good thing.  I think this drug is an example of what the call a NSAID.

A Muddle of Therapies

The net is a whirlpool of wackies and gems.

I've just been talking to Jenny, who says she had good experience with a chiropractic treatment called McTimoney. So I thought I ought to start catalogue of the treatments I've found so far. But first, in looking for information and local practitioners here's an example where McTimoney sits beside the crap. If I were selling a therapy, I would not want to be listed near this entry:

Earth Whisperer
I have the ability to see, sense and heal ley lines, underground water, electrical fields, geomantic stress etc, Arrange a reading and healing to assist in improving your health, wealth and happiness.

What is geomantic stress? Hang on - gotta look that up....okay here's a snippet:

Whether your sacred space is a single crystal, a personal altar, a standing stone, medicine wheel, labyrinth, stone circle or something larger; geomancy can help you design, locate, align and activate the space so that it connects with and enhances the natural energies of the earth.

Am I a grumpy old curmudgeon, or is this complete bollocks?

My Top Tips

This is my most important post.

Feng told me I'd have good days and bad days. Today is a good day, very little pain. I could almost fantasise right now it's all but over, but I know, no such luck.  I'm going to do some serious stretching in a minute, and that will certainly bring back the pain, at least for a while.

Tip #1 Stay Positive
Yeah, right, I tell myself. That's what they all say, airhead self help books. Try doing that when your gurgling to the bottom of a day soaked in pain.

Well, no choice. The famous book On Death and Dying some years ago talked about the stages of grieving. That's sort of it.  You go through a phase of denial, followed by anger, and eventually you end up with acceptance (skipped a step or two here).

Frozen Shoulder takes a long time to heal, and eventually you have to accept it. Well I accept it maybe, but I sure as shit am not going to give in to it.

The real point is you must be active.  Do the exercises, do the stretches, get the therapy, and don't give up. Stupid idiot head flippin syndrome is not going to get the better of me.




Tip #2 Manage the Pain
The pain hits, and your reflex is to clam up. Do not do this.  

• Listen to your body. Yeah, it's bloody well winging about being sore here or aching there. So where exactly is it hurting? It may be the shoulder itself, or it may be referred pain. Or, I often find it's actually around my neck or upper back, stresses transmitted because I'm hunching my shoulders.
   
• Don't just sit there, get up and move.  My favourite exercise is the pulley system. I'll spend 10 or 15 minutes gently winching my arm up and down. It loosens things up a treat, and in my book is better than taking drugs.
   
• Use a heat sack.  I have a cloth sack filled with wheat that I put in the microwave.  Sometimes  I back myself up to a wall, and push the hot beads, massaging my back. Does wonders. Many times a day.
   
• Tiger Balm. Or similar. I use the hot stuff. The hotter the better. Hot enough to melt the cloths off my back if I could get it. Makes me smell like I've just come out of the football change room, but who gives a flying fig when it's relieving your pain!
   
• Drugs. Don't like them, but last resort. I've moped my way through a jumbo pack in the last 6 weeks or so

Tip #3 Exercise!!
Don't give in to the urge to go all floppy because you're in pain. More later exercises.


Tip #4 Therapy
I'm still having the weekly acupuncture and manipulation from Feng. However in the course of this melancholy I've found many different types of claimed cure.  I honestly don't know if there's a 'best' one, but in a future posting I'll catalogue them.


Tip #5 Log Your Progress
Since early on I've kept a chart showing my maximum stretch. See here.  The news may not always be good, but being able to measure your progress gives you evidence that it's working.
So far my gains have been marginal, but every so often I achieve a personal best, and that feels good.

Go to it!