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frozen shoulder or rota cuff


darren m
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X-rays, Ultra sounds do not show torn cuffs, I have the tee shirt, one operation and 6,1/2 months off work plus all the extra physio and shoulder class at hospital

My repaired arm is stronger than my other arm which was also operated on 2 years later to stop impingement, removal of bone and general tidy up inside the shoulder joint. should have been 3 months off work went back in 2 but did no lifting heavy stuff plus all the physio again.

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In my case I had more XRays than Lester Piggots wallet and it showed nothing....after about the third and 20 weeks of extremely painful Physio...The Physiotherapist a young newly qualified 21 year old said....I think you may have a torn Rotator Cuff which has been exacerbated by this exercise regime and will need an MRI to diagnose and possible surgery...

 

thereafter began the next episode

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ok thanks for all the comments ,

the problem as been with me a couple of years , it seemed to right its self , but alas 6 months ago it came back and its stayed.

thats why i was asking which one it could be , the crunching noise or feeling is awful and thats when i get most pain.

 

saying that when its bad as it is now i cant even use my left arm , and like some one said lifting it off the arm of a chair from rest is so painful and pulling my trousers up is a no no .

 

i was hoping it would get better on its own , but it looks like i,ll have to go to the docs after all , hopefully get some cortisone injections if nothing else.

 

one more thing this is confusing me , do i need heat or ice for this

 

thanks again

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ok thanks for all the comments ,

the problem as been with me a couple of years , it seemed to right its self , but alas 6 months ago it came back and its stayed.

thats why i was asking which one it could be , the crunching noise or feeling is awful and thats when i get most pain.

 

saying that when its bad as it is now i cant even use my left arm , and like some one said lifting it off the arm of a chair from rest is so painful and pulling my trousers up is a no no .

 

i was hoping it would get better on its own , but it looks like i,ll have to go to the docs after all , hopefully get some cortisone injections if nothing else.

 

one more thing this is confusing me , do i need heat or ice for this

 

thanks again

 

I am using heat pads effectively. Heat encourages blood flow cold slows it, this is why boxers get ice applied to eye swellings during a fight. All I can say is it works for me and I know all about the horrid crunching feeling (just tapped mine against a door jamb and it took a full 5 mins to compose myself)

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Mine have both been bad for a few years. Every now and then they get significantly worse and a trip to the Osteopath helps get then in the right direction again. Both are not actually frozen at the moment, but they are weak. It seems to be that I used the muscles wrong and I need to train the right muscles to do the supporting. Pilates helps a lot, but I still get relapses. Often after a particularly awkward job (I'm a plumber) where I have to try to put a lot of force on something in an awkward place, usually bath taps. Sometimes just sleeping on a shoulder wrong seems to cause it to flair up for a few weeks. Bloody annoying, but hopefully it will eventually get better as I train myself to use the right muscles.

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I've had a bad shoulder too over the years,for the pain I tie two hot water bottles together tightly by their necks fill them with hot (not boiling) water and slip them over the shoulder with a t-shirt on, they sit there perfect and the heat goes right through from both sides,watch the telly and pain relief in minutes.

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defo will get some heat pads - thanks

 

i have also noticed this time round that when my shoulder is playing up i get thumb pain too :rolleyes: , feels like its badly bruised and very stiff and painful if i press on the muscle part.

i dont think its a coincidence

 

so is there any connection between the shoulder and thumb ,

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I had a partially torn tendon causes through shoulder impingement. Luckily had private cover through my wife's employment. Scans, cortisone injections within a matter of weeks- operation at a time to suit me and physio. Now stronger than my other arm.

NOTE- my quack said definitely NOT to use heat, but cold pads to help treatment

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I had a partially torn tendon causes through shoulder impingement. Luckily had private cover through my wife's employment. Scans, cortisone injections within a matter of weeks- operation at a time to suit me and physio. Now stronger than my other arm.

NOTE- my quack said definitely NOT to use heat, but cold pads to help treatment

Strange, suspect it depends on the exact issue at hand (which seems to be the issue with this condtion which might be a range of things) My physio recommended heat and its working wonders, though only on the pain management

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OK a lot of untruth being spoken here and while I am sure the advice is given in good faith it may be a little misleading

 

Frozen shoulder and rotator cuff injuries are not always the same thing, a frozen shoulder is a rotator cuff problem and damage to the rotator cuff can go on to become a frozen shoulder.

 

A frozen shoulder is a clinical diagnosis and does not need mri scans though an x ray is suggested to rule out degenerative change in the joint.

frozen shoulder is a self limiting condition and will always resolve given time (the average is 18 months the longest I have seen is 4 years) otherwise steroid injection MAY help with the pain, in some cases an operation can be offered but is by no means guaranteed to resolve the problem hence most surgeons will advise no surgery.

 

Rotator cuff injuries are varied the two most common are cuff tears and impingement, usually diagnosed clinically and with a x ray and usually an ultrasound, tears will not heal but treatment may not involve surgery, repairing cuff tears is a complex operation and requires a long rehab after, often not acceptable to self employed

 

hope this helps, everybody has different issues and a specialist opinion is the beltway forward, I have had to deal with to many misdiagnosed and badly advised shoulder problems

 

Doc

This is a good post. & reflects my experience after 4 shoulder opps

 

With respect maybe you should of mentioned the opp where you get the colloid bond shortened (shaved) to create

Some space and the general joint clean you usually get tagged onto the surgery

 

Also a bicep tear often give similar symptoms and is a nasty opp (I've had one) called a SLAP repair which has a full years recovery time

 

Kenny

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