January...must be time for Physical Therapy again! (long)

[Catrin]

I am frustrated...for the THIRD January in a row I have to go into PT, though it won't be for so long this time. Different reasons each time.

I've complained...errrr...mentioned here before an apparently lack of ability to strengthen my left arm. I worked with a great trainer at my last gym for 3 years, and am currently working with another fantastic (and very different) coach/trainer at my current gym. My entire body has responded well to this...outside of that left arm. It is no stronger than it was 3.5 years ago, perhaps a little better but not significantly.

I visited my doc today (an OD) to rule out a spinal misalignment being the root cause. We never got to my spine...after abut 3 minutes he became convinced that something different is the root cause. Apparently there is a HARD stop in that shoulder socket when he was manipulating it and he thinks I've a frozen shoulder. I hadn't realized it was so apparent, but he could tell a significant difference in my muscle development between the two sides, from the Traps to the Delts. I am unsure how a frozen shoulder would encourage muscles to not fire properly, but that is what he thinks. He is the bone doc, I am not.

X-ray today to rule out other things, an MRI is likely in my future. Headed for a few sessions with a PT to help him confirm the diagnosis and to decide if I need to head to an Ortho.

I've done some reading on this condition, and in some cases it does resolve automatically after a year or so...but it has been like this at least 3.5 years (probably longer) if he is correct. That arm has been broken several times over the years, so it is possible that it is related to some post-traumatic issue and I never noticed. I've always ignored pain, and if it ever did hurt it was so long ago that I've forgotten. Ok, so perhaps it does get my attention when I try to push it further than it wants to go...

I am trying not to panic, I can't really afford to deal with this...hopefully it will respond to conservative treatment. From my discussion with him however, all of the corrective exercises I've been doing for months to target that shoulder are exactly the same that a PT would use and they have had little to no effect.

All I've read appears to indicate that a frozen shoulder is painful - well, mine isn't (if his dx turns out to be correct). So, we will see what happens. I am following up as I need to do so and we will just see. Does anyone have any experience with a "frozen shoulder" ?

[murielalex]

Ugh. I have nothing helpful to say other than I feel for you and hope you get the help you need to heal fast. That must be extremely frustrating.

[emily_in_nc]

Ugh. I have nothing helpful to say other than I feel for you and hope you get the help you need to heal fast. That must be extremely frustrating.

What she said...sorry about this! Chronic injuries/physical issues are no fun. I wish you the best with it.

[Catrin]

I've known for some time that something was going on with that arm, or at least I suspected it. It is probably better to know what it is than not to know. I guess I can't stick my head back under the sand and go back to assuming what I don't know can't hurt me I want to be that strong, active and agile senior citizen if I am around that long!

[girlontheroad]

No information to provide other than support and good thoughts. Chronic issues really suck!

[OakLeaf]

Ugh. No personal experience here either. Hope you get it resolved soon.

I would note (and this is very much my personal current experience) that the ENTIRE shoulder girdle functions as a unit, and if one thing is out of balance, nothing else will work properly; if one thing is out of balance for a long time, EVERYTHING is going to need correction. That's everything from scalenes and SCMs through the intercostals down to the diaphragm. They'll need to be targeted with myofascial release, stretching, balanced strengthening, possibly with direct manual realignment ...

Good luck.

[Crankin]

I hope you can get this fixed, Catrin.
Sometimes I wonder if all of this "healthy" stuff we do is good for certain parts of our bodies. Of course, I am not suggesting that w should stay home and lie on the couch, eating chocolate, so I wear my chronic conditions and time with the PT as a badge of honor.

[Catrin]

Ugh. No personal experience here either. Hope you get it resolved soon.

I would note (and this is very much my personal current experience) that the ENTIRE shoulder girdle functions as a unit, and if one thing is out of balance, nothing else will work properly; if one thing is out of balance for a long time, EVERYTHING is going to need correction. That's everything from scalenes and SCMs through the intercostals down to the diaphragm. They'll need to be targeted with myofascial release, stretching, balanced strengthening, possibly with direct manual realignment ...

Good luck.

Good point Oak, and I need to keep that in mind. I DO know that more often than not my scapula on that side has some kind of sensation or another. It's been that way for years, long before I got off the couch. Dr. thinks there is atrophy in the muscles attached to that shoulder but my ROM isn't THAT restricted. Perhaps it doesn't take much, I really don't know. Thankfully everything on my right side appears to be developing normally - and THAT was the side most impacted by the whiplash last year.

My hospital has a device that images the shoulder complex in far more detail/depth than a normal x-ray, but he isn't ready to send me there as it exposes much more of the body to radiation than a normal x-ray.

My trainer has been focusing on balanced strengthening to try and get my left side to respond, as well as teaching me multiple approaches to myofascial release and stretching. About the only thing that hasn't been attempted is direct manual realignment, but if my dr. is right it is probably too early for that. I looked up PT exercises for frozen shoulders and I've been doing all that, and then some, for months now.

I do wonder what impact riding has on that shoulder, if any. My riding position is so upright however that I am not overly concerned about that...

[withm]

It may be premature to embark on PT and exercises to strengthen the shoulder until you have the MRI and a diagnosis of exactly what is causing your frozen shoulder and the location of the problem.

My frozen shoulder was caused by a bone spur, which as it grew, and subsequently damaged surrounding area, literally froze my shoulder. I was unable to raise my arm much past my waist level, and it was so painful that, well I don't even want to remember how much it hurt. After several months of PT, I finally got the MRI and at that point we realized that all the PT in the world was not going to help until I got that bone spur removed. By waiting so long to do the surgery, the recovery was prolonged. I only wish now that I had done it sooner. Even still, it was about a year after the surgery before I had regained full range of motion, and that's after months of PT, and continuing to do all the exercises every other day.

[Catrin]

Yikes Withim, you certainly went through the wringer! Once he is sure that it IS a frozen shoulder I am sure he will order the MRI - but I am not in any hurry to get it due to the expense - I wish I had checked this out LAST year when I had already spent my deductible but I wanted to give all of the work a chance to have an effect... It doesn't hurt which seems to fly in the face of everything I've read about frozen shoulders. Sure it gets my attention when I am trying to push its limit, but it still isn't what I would call real pain. There is certainly something that is impeding my range of motion - but that wouldn't have ever become truly apparent until I started working on overhead lifting such as push presses and over-head squats - and found that it is currently not possible for me to use proper form because of that arm (which means I must to other things). It was also apparent that left arm wasn't strengthening like my right arm. So we will see.

Part of the PT evaluation is to provide him more information to assist in the diagnosis, which makes sense to me. He works in pretty close cooperation with a really good PT/Sports injury outpatient center at my hospital to help him in these situations.

[Catrin]

This is frustrating, but trying not to let it bother me. Last Friday after my Dr. visit I went to get the x-ray he prescribed for my shoulder. I was told that he would have the results before the day was over. As his office is very good at communication and I hadn't heard anything, I called the office this morning and spoke with his assistant (who actually answered his phone when I called!) For whatever reason they hadn't yet received the results and he would get back with me.

Less than an hour later there was a voice mail waiting for me. He had already gotten the report/images and my doctor (an OD) had reviewed them. "We found a several things, please make certain you make the appointment already scheduled for Friday".

This is TUESDAY, so I've three days to consider what "several things", they found. Frozen shoulders don't show up in x-rays (unless it is caused by a bone spur), nor do (usually) rotator cuff problems. I already know there is very minor arthritis there...but it is minor. I've a too blasted vivid imagination for them to tell me something like that...and they've not had problems telling me things over the phone before.

darn it, I am sure there is a good reason but I wish they would at least give me a HINT, that would be far kinder in the long run.

[indysteel]

This is frustrating, but trying not to let it bother me. Last Friday after my Dr. visit I went to get the x-ray he prescribed for my shoulder. I was told that he would have the results before the day was over. As his office is very good at communication and I hadn't heard anything, I called the office this morning and spoke with his assistant (who actually answered his phone when I called!) For whatever reason they hadn't yet received the results and he would get back with me.

Less than an hour later there was a voice mail waiting for me. He had already gotten the report/images and my doctor (an OD) had reviewed them. "We found a several things, please make certain you make the appointment already scheduled for Friday".

This is TUESDAY, so I've three days to consider what "several things", they found. Frozen shoulders don't show up in x-rays (unless it is caused by a bone spur), nor do (usually) rotator cuff problems. I already know there is very minor arthritis there...but it is minor. I've a too blasted vivid imagination for them to tell me something like that...and they've not had problems telling me things over the phone before.

darn it, I am sure there is a good reason but I wish they would at least give me a HINT, that would be far kinder in the long run.

Ugh; I hate having to wait for things like that. Sit tight and try not to stress (yeah; I know. Easier said than done). Be sure to keep us posted.

[Catrin]

I don't know if he will do it, but I left a message for his assistant inquiring if it would be possible to have an idea of what was found in the x-ray - and I referenced my vivid imagination. It's fine if they don't want/aren't comfortable doing that. It is was it is, and that is only 3 days away. ughhh

[Catrin]

The medical assistant did call and we both observed that there are times when Google is not our friend While the x-ray can't see soft tissues, the bones in my shoulder are in such a position that tendonitis or "frozen shoulder" are still on the table. MRI or CT scan is recommended to find out what is actually going on. While I wish I had done this in December (that scan will be a LOT more expensive now with having to meet my deductible along with the usual 20% co-pay), there is also some relief that there is evidence of something mechanical going on. After working so hard for so long with no progress in that arm I had started to wonder if it was something in my head...

Whatever it is has been there for many years (long before I started working out 3.5 years ago) and is quite entrenched, and part of me wonders the odds of improvement but I refuse to go look THAT up. Part of me is concerned that surgery will be suggested, but there isn't enough information to stress over something like that.

[Catrin]

I had the PT eval from my miracle guy, and he figured my shoulder out in about 15 minutes – and 15 minutes later he had my left arm totally extended – bicep touching my ear – with no pain or stress (outside of some tension in the scapula)! He thinks the shoulder will be completely resolved in about a month, perhaps 5 weeks. All he did was to do some rather painful poking around on my collar bone…

The problem isn't actually in the shoulder – the problem is related to an old broken collar bone in my teen years that wasn't rehabbed properly. Something about that old injury is preventing my left shoulder from really engaging properly. He did explain it and he is sending me an email with the pertinent information to forward to my trainer. His guidance is no over-head lifting at all for now until we strengthen my rotator cuffs. No problems with pushing/pulling, or lower body work – but no over-head work for a bit. The rotator cuff is weak - not because it is injured but because the shoulder isn't working properly due to this collar bone/shoulder joint issue.

The humerus moves properly in the shoulder, but very few of the muscles fire at all and are currently incapable of strengthening because of the old injury. Bill says this is actually a minor problem that is easily solved, but it would have never solved itself. He sees no reason why I won’t be able to finally start building upper body strength when we are done