Prayers Requested

Yeah, I agree that PT is better when it's more targeted. My wife's on her third PT in the last 6 months, mostly because they weren't doing her any good. She finally found someone who did more targeted exercises that are more focused on her individual situation and how she's coming along in her recovery and is finally making some progress. Keep after them to do the things that you think will help and that you know are helping and you'll hopefully have better results this time.

Any way you could rig something up to rest your arm on while using that touch screen? Not sure if a sling or brace might help there, but I know what you mean.

Still sending prayers!!
Negative. The sales screen is a 19" interactive touch screen. Did give the shoulder some exercise/stretching today. Made a huge batch of my rice/veggie dish, and ground some sirloin, flank steak and boneless beef short ribs twice in order to make some high quality burgers for dinner tomorrow.
If the touchscreen is a problem, can you use a mouse or trackball instead?
No can do.
The Massage Therapist I was working with at the time did a far better job than the meatheaded gym rat PT guy did with mine. I got the shot and was sent to PT. All the PT guy did was aggravate it more. One-size-fits-all exercises with patient-blaming somehow didn't help my shoulder.

My MT's stretching assistance and poking/prodding at the joint in certain strategic places while he was stretching my arm in various directions improved it with each session, after the shot I'd got from the doctor....

Hopefully you get quick relief....
If the gym trainers intimidate you with their bootcamp style motivation, recall that there are several schools of belief. Many gym trainers believe in Darwin's mindset. I prefer to think that we're all essentially put on this planet to do what good we possibly can, live as peaceable lives as we can, and let those trained to fight our battles for us do so. If we're constantly being challenged to make it through the week and survive, that's really not enjoyable living. It's really about forcing us to compete against a system that is far superior than any one individual. That, and the fact that when we do compete, we're just being used against our own will. Some years ago I used to think if I stepped back and became an observer rather than an active participant, life would be more enjoyable. Well, when one begins feeling older and realizes that without adequate regular exercise, one's health deteriorates, that individual must take proactive steps to tone and strengthen one's body.

The PT will be apprised of my goals, and how quickly I might need to arrive at said goals.

My pain is currently manageable with topical analgesics from the topical relief aisles. Thankfully, my pharmacist asked me how I doing and wondered why I wasn't at work. Long story short, I mentioned the frozen shoulder diagnosis to her, and said my boss was aware and will make do with the schedule until my health improves or more is known about when it will be possible for me to return to work.
 
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FWIW - frozen shoulder, a.k.a. adhesive capsulitis is typically known as an old woman’s disease. But it seems to be showing up in diabetic men.

Something has changed with our lifestyle, food and water.
Interesting. Am obese, but blood sugars don't reflect any diabetes. Only recently had I begun enjoying a 1 oz. bag of chips with my work dinner sandwich. Will ask the doctor why she provided this diagnosis.
 
If the gym trainers intimidate you with their bootcamp style motivation, recall that there are several schools of belief. Many gym trainers believe in Darwin's mindset.

Wasn't intimidated, just ended up in worse shape due to poor PT choice by the doctor in his referral.

If we're constantly being challenged to make it through the week and survive, that's really not enjoyable living.

Thats 100% true. Not saying life should throw no challenges whatsoever at us, but it'd be nice if they were coming in single file some of the time....
 
FWIW - frozen shoulder, a.k.a. adhesive capsulitis is typically known as an old woman’s disease. But it seems to be showing up in diabetic men.

Something has changed with our lifestyle, food and water.

Yup. The Food Industrial Complex softens us up, then they tag in the Healthcare Industrial Complex to rope-a-dope us until we provide less revenue than we cost them. The only real power we, as individuals, have against them is to cut off a small part of their revenue stream....
 
Wasn't intimidated, just ended up in worse shape due to poor PT choice by the doctor in his referral.

Thats 100% true. Not saying life should throw no challenges whatsoever at us, but it'd be nice if they were coming in single file some of the time....
It'll be interesting to learn how different insurance providers select specialists within their networks. Previous time I needed PT, I was a member of XYZ insurance. Several years later, ABC insurance. The PT clinic is about 5 minutes away compared to 20 minutes previously, and hopefully the therapist can help sort out my health issues once I acclimate to their environment. That may be key, simply because I never quite understood the work ethic at my previous PT's office.

Regards being required to face challenges, it might be nice if we could select whatever challenges there are and ask for help whenever we might feel overwhelmed, or be given the authority to delegate the handling of responsibilities to team-members who are not as burdened.

Sometimes this works both ways, but it's usually handed down from the top to co-workers that have completed their work assignments for the day and could use some work to do.

All this being said, the arm feels slightly weaker than yesterday, steady knot of pain in the mid anterior bicep and left wrist. I think the wrist might have gotten knocked on my bedside table which contributed to the additional level this noontime.
 
Ouch, I had this and it went away completely on its own, but it took several months. I recommend going to a good sports doctor and PT if you can. My sister in law had this and went the route of having a doctor break the adhesions. It was painful and she didn't recover much faster than I did. Adhesive capsulitis is not an actual injury, but breaking the adhesion can cause an injury.

It is more common in older people and women, big deal. I had it after a year of biking 2500 miles, no illness or diabetes. Don't feel bad, just be patient and keep moving!
 
Although the doctor didn't know the cause of the encapsulation, she did suggest that a week's time of ensuring mobility and stretching would go a long way towards healing sooner. Regards work, my boss said to let him know once my primary has cleared me for work. It may be two weeks from today. TBH, I seriously need to be up on my feet and moving at least 3 times a week for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours, or my weight gets out of hand.

If the PT can restore my range of motion in my shoulders, it will be possible to head back to the fitness center and utilize some of the shoulder/back machines. The gym trainer sent me to PT some years ago to restore my shoulders so she could work with me...and after 10 weeks of failed progress, insurance wouldn't cover the treatments, and my hopes for a stronger toned physique didn't happen.

All this tells me is that the PT exercises need to be more targeted with less time spent. TBH, I felt like I was being strung along until they cut me loose...neither results of restored shoulders nor toned physique occurred. Also because I needed to find time to do the home PT; I was neither too tired from work or spent from sitting in front of a computer screen.

Shoulder feels like it's loosened up some, but holding the arm in front of me for touch-screen use may complicate the pain issues. Will try some wall-climbing stretches this evening and see if the pain fades somewhat...
Wall climbing exercises, that's effectively what the PT made me do. Kinda "cliffhanging". As for the weight aspects, starting a certain age I guess we're all the same 😉. Do exercise, reasonably, maybe 2 times half an hour per day but do not force. Keep on rocking!
 
Wall climbing exercises, that's effectively what the PT made me do. Kinda "cliffhanging". As for the weight aspects, starting a certain age I guess we're all the same 😉. Do exercise, reasonably, maybe 2 times half an hour per day but do not force. Keep on rocking!
Although the primary did say encapsulated, IDNR her saying adhesive. The wall-climbers I recall...designed to stretch and regain range of motion. Others like pressing outstretched arms into a doorframe's corners, or elbow against the doorframe. Hoping the exercises have improved in the past few years...
 
Ouch, I had this and it went away completely on its own, but it took several months. I recommend going to a good sports doctor and PT if you can. My sister in law had this and went the route of having a doctor break the adhesions. It was painful and she didn't recover much faster than I did. Adhesive capsulitis is not an actual injury, but breaking the adhesion can cause an injury.

It is more common in older people and women, big deal. I had it after a year of biking 2500 miles, no illness or diabetes. Don't feel bad, just be patient and keep moving!
Just did some WebMD research regards adhesive encapsulitis and discovered something I didn't like...the expected timeframe from initial pain/injury to full recovery can be upwards of 9 months towards 2 years forward. Am already experiencing difficulty getting dressed in the morning; what fresh hell awaits?

The choices of treatment may be to work with a qualified PT who can help regain range of motion and reduce inflammation where pain begins, or opt for an orthopedist who can arthroscopically break the adhesions and reconstruct the shoulder. My previous condition may preclude all of this...my left shoulder received rotator cuff surgery back in 2007 that proved unsuccessful...the interference screw that would have supposedly held the tendon in place ultimately let go after 9 months of recovery; effectively negating the repair, and purpose of the surgery.

My feeling is that this is a special case, what with the left shoulder already impacted by surgery previously and now adhesive encapsulitis. My quality of life is being threatened...not being able to dress, shower, or cook for myself will have a major impact on not only my life but my immediate family's.

The recovery timeframe of 9 months to 2 years also has me thinking of what might happen if I might need retire from my job. I'll need to ask the advice of my family as well as that of the doctors involved in my treatment plan.

This is an entirely whole new ball of wax...gonna need some encouragement along the way...
 
Just did some WebMD research regards adhesive encapsulitis and discovered something I didn't like...the expected timeframe from initial pain/injury to full recovery can be upwards of 9 months towards 2 years forward. Am already experiencing difficulty getting dressed in the morning; what fresh hell awaits?

The choices of treatment may be to work with a qualified PT who can help regain range of motion and reduce inflammation where pain begins, or opt for an orthopedist who can arthroscopically break the adhesions and reconstruct the shoulder. My previous condition may preclude all of this...my left shoulder received rotator cuff surgery back in 2007 that proved unsuccessful...the interference screw that would have supposedly held the tendon in place ultimately let go after 9 months of recovery; effectively negating the repair, and purpose of the surgery.

My feeling is that this is a special case, what with the left shoulder already impacted by surgery previously and now adhesive encapsulitis. My quality of life is being threatened...not being able to dress, shower, or cook for myself will have a major impact on not only my life but my immediate family's.

The recovery timeframe of 9 months to 2 years also has me thinking of what might happen if I might need retire from my job. I'll need to ask the advice of my family as well as that of the doctors involved in my treatment plan.

This is an entirely whole new ball of wax...gonna need some encouragement along the way...
I feel for you, frozen shoulder is really painful, and there is no silver bullet. I think for me it was completely gone within 7-8 months, and maybe only 3 months where I was completely frozen, so once motion started to come back after about 3-4 months life was much better. Your case is different than mine because of your actual injury, so my advice is much less relevant. I saw a sports doctor, went for PT and saw an orthopedist (in that order from most to least helpful).
 
Take heart. You're still vertical, and that's a gift. Something to keep in the back of your head while you're dealing with the bullshit.
 
And as per my previous post back on page 1, I STILL think you should see a proper upper limb orthopedic surgeon. You're all speculating about the actual diagnosis, and recommending all sorts of treatments based on peoples' own shoulder experiences. That isn't science - or medicine.

See a real specialist, get an MRI on their recommendation (almost certainly would order one), and then follow their advice.

Why are you avoiding seeing an actual specialist who knows stuff about your problem?

Maybe you think that all specialists are knife-happy and will recommend surgery regardless? Most of us are NOT - and most of us will recommend surgery only if it is actually needed, and then as a last resort in most cases (unless for malignancies where earlier is better).

However, as you seem somewhat resistant to the idea of actually getting it seen by someone who actually knows about this stuff, then I'm out of this conversation.
 
And as per my previous post back on page 1, I STILL think you should see a proper upper limb orthopedic surgeon. You're all speculating about the actual diagnosis, and recommending all sorts of treatments based on peoples' own shoulder experiences. That isn't science - or medicine.

See a real specialist, get an MRI on their recommendation (almost certainly would order one), and then follow their advice.

Why are you avoiding seeing an actual specialist who knows stuff about your problem?

Maybe you think that all specialists are knife-happy and will recommend surgery regardless? Most of us are NOT - and most of us will recommend surgery only if it is actually needed, and then as a last resort in most cases (unless for malignancies where earlier is better).

However, as you seem somewhat resistant to the idea of actually getting it seen by someone who actually knows about this stuff, then I'm out of this conversation.
In CT, physicians prefer to follow the least invasive form of treatment plan first. For the primary, that meant diagnosing the condition (adhesive encapsulitis) and referring me to a PT. X-rays were performed the 23rd, not significant results revealed there.

And I fully agree with you about the orthopedist, except that you don't know my prior history regards orthopedics. My primary does know, and for that reason alone her treatment plan is being followed.

I appreciate your concern, but treatment plans what they are, and insurance allowing only so much based on preferred treatment plans. I've already suggested an MRI and the orthopedist with my primary, and she has effectively said, we still need to follow protocol before allowing costlier procedures.
 
Hey, All,

It's been about a week's time since I've posted much anything of merit to this forum...and with good reason.

Tuesday the 21st I arrived home from my evening meeting, and spent about 45 minutes until 11:30 prepping for bed. I was tired; a good tired from doing an honest day's work plus socializing at our meeting where we learn stuff.

Anyway, got into bed and tried sleeping partially on my left shoulder. Slept through the entire evening, not waking or needing a bathroom break.

Wednesday morning, I awoke to the most horrendous left shoulder pain (6 to 7 out of 10, on a 1-10 scale) imaginable. Could barely lift, move, facilitate, rotate, extend my left arm at all. Iced the son of a gun and took 2 Aleve 12 hours apart.

Spoke with my primary Thursday who diagnosed the shoulder as a frozen or encapsulated shoulder, with X-Rays. The doc said the shoulder will need physical therapy for a while with follow-up on my part each day.

My basic concern is that this will impede my ability to do my regular part-time job for several work-shifts during the next 3 weeks. I'm not sure how to approach this with my boss as he's somewhat short-handed employee hours anyway. My age is 65; I see no need for retiring from my job anytime soon, but just need some words of advice how the next 3 to 6 months might need scheduling to allow for physical therapy twice a week, and each day with home therapy.

Until physical therapy can be scheduled, I'll need to ask the boss to halve my part-time work schedule and distribute the work hours among fellow employees. This will continue until the 3rd week of June.

Meanwhile, my normal activities (driving, grocery shopping, meetings, work, household chores, gardening, guitar practice, most all of my free time) require rest and icing of the shoulder. While the doc said to keep the arm and shoulder mobile as much as possible, no pain-relievers can solve the hurt I feel now. This might take quite a while of PT. Prayers and mojo requested.

Thanks for reading.

- Bob (bleujazz3)
Praying for you brother. Psalm 16:5-6
 
A couple days ago my bro-in law sat up in bed and fell to the floor and couldn’t get up.

Ambulance to emergency room.

Spent 3 or 4 days in the hospital

Sharp pain on his left collar bone to the shoulder

He’s now but the pain is intense and can’t sit up in bed

I think it’s this

“Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which the nerves or blood vessels are squeezed tightly in a small space behind the collarbone (clavicle). This space is called the thoracic outlet. TOS can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in your shoulder, arm, or hand. Sometimes it causes swelling.”

Wish there was some way I could help him…

They are referring him to a neurologist
 
A couple days ago my bro-in law sat up in bed and fell to the floor and couldn’t get up.

Ambulance to emergency room.

Spent 3 or 4 days in the hospital

Sharp pain on his left collar bone to the shoulder

He’s now but the pain is intense and can’t sit up in bed

I think it’s this

“Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which the nerves or blood vessels are squeezed tightly in a small space behind the collarbone (clavicle). This space is called the thoracic outlet. TOS can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in your shoulder, arm, or hand. Sometimes it causes swelling.”

Wish there was some way I could help him…

They are referring him to a neurologist

As a Thoracic and Vascular Surgeon, I have to say that the symptoms you describe don't sound anything like TOS. I've seen and treated hundreds of TOS cases over a few decades. A neurologist would be a good first point of referral, and they can then refer on to the appropriate tertiary specialist if necessary. It may be something orthopedic (eg fractured clavicle or first rib) or it may be something neurological (trauma to supraclavicular nerves, for example) that a simple local anaesthetic injection could help with the diagnosis.

I know most folks in here like to help each other out - which is a good thing - but it frequently involves people diagnosing all sorts of things based on a best guess or something they read or heard about. Why the resistance to getting an actual, proper, science-based diagnosis? Medical science sure ain't perfect, but it has come a LONG way from the days of woo-woo, spells, and mysterious ailments being ascribed to non-existent conditions. Life expectancy is vastly better now than it was just a hundred years ago, and mostly due to medical advances and public health advocacy. But the Internet seems to have encouraged people to go backwards....!

End of frustrated rant ;)
 
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