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

[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.

[tealtreak]

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.

This is so often discussed at our house! (: Some of us 50+ (athletes) have amazing cardiac #s, fit in our high school clothes etc...BUT are plagued by orthopedic issues... the "other half of the family" are on statins, blood pressure meds, etc..... happily sedentary.... but pain free (: It makes me laugh...I love kayaking, biking and backpacking too much to give them up regardless......

[Crankin]

Well, my DH is on statins, bp meds, and is in awesome physical shape .Definitely not sedentary. Some of us can't fight our genetics. He's pretty pain free, too, although, I think age is catching up with him a little. Me, I think I have just accepted this is the price I pay for weighing the same as I did in HS!
Funny, DH's cardiologist was a little discouraging to all the intense exercise when he first had the stents put in, but now, he accepts it. We are all outliers.

[OakLeaf]

We-e-e-e-lll ... that whole line of reasoning always ticks me off, because it's such a false portrayal of life, that a few unfit people use to justify their choices, and ridicule people who try to take care of ourselves.

If you've seen the kind of musculoskeletal pain that people who DON'T exercise typically suffer when their muscles and tendons contract from non-use, bursitis sets in, degenerative arthritis affects multiple joints, etc., etc. you'd never for a moment choose those over either the temporary pain of acute orthopedic injuries, or the lasting pain of post-traumatic arthritis in a few joints. And that's not even talking about their greater risk of all kinds of painful and extremely debilitating diseases.

It's no different from dietary choices. If someone has never in their life felt physically good, they really have no idea how bad they feel, or that they have any control over the matter. And it's easy for them to ridicule those of us who are acutely aware of when we feel a little bit (or a lot!) bad and put some effort into trying to remedy it.

[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.