Frozen Shoulder

[atlantaz3]

I'm not so quietly going crazy. I have a left frozen shoulder which means I can only raise my arm about half way, can't zip a dress, can't hook a back bra any more tmi I know. I'm just over 50 this is the pits. But really hurts is I can't even make a pony tail any more much less buns or other fun stuff. Yes I'm doing PT and hope to have full movement again at some point. But in the mean time does anyone have suggestions for hair styles? On a very good day I can still do a french braid, but not usually in the morning too stiff. Half up pony with a clip in high on crown and then I can slide the clip lower one handed. I've even tried bending over to fix hair but that just looks like Helen Boham Carter! One plus side is I can do a side pony to the good side - need to add a few bobby pins to clip the strays. Help!

[rock007junkie]

First issue to address here...have you gotten checked? Do you know why is this happening to you?

[lunalocks]

I had shoulder surgery a month ago and the first week was the pits, not being able to even touch my hair with my good hand!

But now I am able to rest my elbow on a table with my hand up in the air and bend my head down. I am able to do a pony and some simple buns.

PT is really helping me get back mobility. (I'm 56. Feels like things break down and I must just patch them back together again)

[jeanniet]

Frozen shoulder is the worst. I had it for months. I don't really have any suggestions for you regarding hair, because at the peak of mine there was no way I could have put my hair up. I really couldn't use my arm at all. Do your PT exercises--I saw marked improvement when I started with mine, even though at first it hurt a LOT. The other thing your PT may have already told you, but make sure you don't slump forward or keep your shoulders shrugged up. That really impinges on the nerve. If you can be conscious of holding your shoulders back and down (think about strutting your stuff, lol) it will make a big difference. Once I started with PT and improving my posture, things got better pretty quickly, and then the more you can use your arm, the faster your shoulder will loosen up.

[atlantaz3]

Yes I went to dr, I think my next step will be the manipulation but I'm chicken. Working on PT exercises, and starting in pool this week, I hope some sort of laps will help mobility. I need to try the elbow table method, if I could at least get a pony tail for summer I will be happy. My darling dh is a dear and helps me dry the last center back section of my hair - he's getting pretty good at it!

[dulce]

I got a frozen shoulder after having my arm in a splint due to a broken collar bone.What helped me was rehab plus daily stretching under a very hot shower daily,it hurt but persevered and eventually got full movement back after several months.I did see a surgeon who wanted to operate and said without surgery I wouldn't get full movement back and even with surgery I might not.I was too scared of surgical complications so decided to do it myself and I did!! Good luck! It is painful but you can get rid of it.

[irisheyes]

I had a frozen right shoulder after a torn rotator cuff injury. That was agony. I refused surgery too. I didn't do PT, but I got full function back after a few months of stretching just like Dulce did. I could only get my hair into a side ponytail, but I never stopped trying to do my hair. I think my hair helped my recovery, because I was very motivated to care for it. Otherwise, I didn't have much reason to lift my arm above my head. Good luck.

[longNred]

I'm so sorry! My mother had that, for a solid year. The good news, it will free itself... In time. I know that doesn't really help right now, but my mom saw a bunch of docs for it, one specialist said it almost always goes away on its own. Hers did, but after she tried PT, yoga, etc... She briefly considered having it broken and reset... But opted to wait it out, and was glad she did in the end. I can't offer any hair suggestions, but I know what you're going through. Hang in there! And feel better soon!

[kpzra]

They were never neat but when my shoulder went out I'd lean the back of my head against something to hold the cinnabun while I put the sticks/pins in. I could swirl/wrap it with one hand still. My hair was only mid back at the time though.

[cindy58]

Ugh!! You have my sincere sympathy! I went through this last year. Hurts like the devil! I was in horrible pain from it. Couldn't sleep, couldn't get dressed, do hair, etc. I did 4 months of 3x weekly PT. It's much much better, but not perfect. 2 drs. said it was a rotator cuff tear, but the orthopedic guy insisted it was a frozen shoulder.

The only thing I could manage with my hair was a side braid. It was my left shoulder too.

I do have one big caution to tell you about. NSAIDs and pain medication. I could not have managed without it, sleep and therapy would have been impossible, life in general! But I ended up with a pretty big shed on account of it. I went off the narcotics as quickly as I could and was managing with 800 mg motrin, finally down to just 1 about an hour before therapy. Apparently the motrin causes your hair to enter the resting phase sooner than it should, and so the big shed. I finished therapy about the beginning of January, and then no more motrin. The hair is all growing back now and is looking pretty stupid and messy with all these short hairs sticking up. I generally don't use any styling products, but finally gave in and bought some hair spray. That doesn't improve the look of the short hairs either. I think I just have to wait it out.

This isn't seeming to be so much of an issue lately, but for awhile after finishing therapy I could tell when things were feeling like they were "seizing" up again. If I did my stretching exercises then, I could feel it relaxing almost immediately. The ortho guy did say that my shoulder was pretty tight. I think in general it is a lot better now.