Been suffering with what I think is a frozen shoulder, ever since July when I pulled something in it bowling at a stupid cricket match, not having played cricket for years.

Tried acupuncture, don’t want to pump myself full of steroids or whatever the GP likely will suggest, so I’ve come across this method, on recommendation from somebody I know.

Now I’ve had a 1st and second go, but it doesn’t seem very, well hard or deep therapy, it just involves rolling key bits of you about, very low impact, seems like nothing happening and am concerned I’m being mugged here.

So if ever there’s a group of folk who might know I thought I might find out here. It’s becoming bloody painful on long downhill sections, (the bits that should be fun)and I’m hacked off with it.

Have you thought of referring yourself to your local NHS physio?
if only for another opinion

To be honest I don’t have a lot of faith in anything to do with the NHS, there are sports injury physio’s i could try locally, but this is something a bit different from anything I’ve experienced before, it hasn’t responded to all the usual things you do, it’s a bit weird, so I thought I’d try something off the normal reservation so to speak.

My wife has neck and shoulder problems and had five sessions of Bowen.
She still has neck and shoulder problems and is £100 worse off.
When she explained what they did I must confess to being incredibly cynical but it seems to work for some, just not my wife.

I’ve experience of this and it was excruciatingly painful so much so that I was unable to do everyday things cos it was jammed. Under anaesthetic it was manipulated following a steroid injection then followed intensive private physio.

It did eventually start to lock up again so got a recommendation for a physio on here, her speciality was soft tissue work that included plenty of acupuncture. It did the trick.

Don’t leave it.

That’s what I’m trying to avoid, early on the consensus was steroid then physio, you’re right it can be kick in the nuts painful, doing stupid things like offering a dog a treat and having to pull my hand back suddenly if he goes for it a bit aggressively, you know the reflex action of pulling your hand away, it stops me dead for a few seconds of unbelievable pain, and I’ve got quite a high pain threshold.
My arm movement is restricted, can’t lift my right arm higher than shoulder level, as a person who’s always been fit and anytime capable of dropping down and pushing twenty press ups without breaking sweat, I can’t do one, not even on my knees.
Up until recently it hadn’t affected my bike riding but since Xmas it’s been getting worse.

Ibuprofen eases it if I need to do something energetic, but again it’s drugs and I have an inbuilt aversion to taking stuff, anyway in brief that’s how I got here, sorry to read of the scepticism, tomorrow the last of the initial three sessions I paid for, which yes cost me a ton, normally forty quid a go, but…..

Less snake oil and quackery, more diagnostics?

Trouble is that you get used to the pain. You need a physio you can trust, personal recommendation is best but you need to know whether a steroid injection is needed.

I found showering extremely difficult, hair washing was a nightmare. Couldn’t even do the food shopping, had to get it delivered.

It won’t go away of its own accord so you need to be pro-active. Good luck!

To be honest I don’t have a lot of faith in anything to do with the NHS, there are sports injury physio’s i could try locally

….who’ve all been trained in the NHS.

Do you have a diagnosis of a frozen shoulder. Its quite specific and for me way beyond a sporting inconvienence

If you do have a frozen shoulder and it is persisting then get into the NHS system incase like Cinnamon you need the nuclear options

I’ve had both shoulders freeze and unfreeze.

The second was eased by following some exercise, i can’t find the exact one but something like this

http://www.ouh.nhs.uk/shoulderandelbow/information/documents/a4frozenshoulderappendix3.pdf

Once my private physio was sure i had a frozen shoulder he sent me away. He said that physio doesn’t help much

All the internet intel seems to indicate a two to three year period before it cures itself. There doesn’t seem to be any real idea what causes it and to be honest it was coming on a bit before the cricket match and it was only the physical act of trying to bowl that brought it fully to my awareness.
All the things you describe cinnamon girl are exactly what’s going on, difficult to even get my kit on in the morning, stupid thing.

But doctors. waiting room, all those sick people sat there breathing over me, the place smells like old people and wee, so in the face of all that it hasn’t been so bad as to face it especially with some hard recommendations for this method, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Ampthill, thanks for that link, hadn’t seen that, spot on, exactly what’s next if the Bowen thing fails to deliver.

But doctors. waiting room, all those sick people sat there breathing over me, the place smells like old people and wee, so in the face of all that it hasn’t been so bad as to face it especially with some hard recommendations for this method, so I thought I’d give it a go

I don’t know how it works where you live but we can refer ourselves to the NHS physio, no need to go near a GP.
Ours is an outsourced private company (aren’t they all now?)anyway in very nice offices.

yep, tried bowen, was rubbish, got the right results from the Right physio (private) (came recommended) amazing results.

I’ve had a full on Frozen Shoulder, clinically diagnosed by one of the UK’s leading shoulder consultants and then treated with a combined NHS/private approach. It’s a bloody painful and debilitating condition that gets gradually worse before it gets gradually better.

For me a Hydrodilatation helped massively to free up the shoulder, followed then by intensive physio with a specialist shoulder physio. After 2 hard years the shoulder is now back to 100% strength, 100% mobility and totally pain free.

Disagree with Ampthill slightly (in relation to my case) as physio was exactly what my shoulder needed and without it I’d have been left with restricted movement and a poorly functioning shoulder joint and surrounding muscles (the restricted movement of the shoulder over time can lead to muscle wastage and compensation in the effected shoulder and this is where physio really helps reverse this). Pick your physio though – some are amazing, some are next to useless. I was recommended a fantastic specialist shoulder physio by my consultant.

Get it properly seen to by a specialist as they’ll be able to diagnose and let you know whether it is just a frozen shoulder or combined with something else, e.g. labaral tear, roter cuff injury, impingement etc. Expect to be referred for an MRI scan as part of the process.

If it is frozen shoulder be prepared for a long haul but despite how it feels now, it will get better – provided you put the effort in. In my case I’m 100% better but I did stick to my physio religiously.

OK, thanks everyone for all of that, kind of confirms what I have, maybe I should go get it diagnosed at least.

Interesting no support for Bowen, she’s not going to be pleased when I tell her… still live by the internet (where I initially heard of it) die by internet.

experience of bowen technique – check
friend of a colleague trained in it, some years back. saw her for about half a dozen sessions on a dodgy knee as part of her final project (type thing)
have to say my knee always felt better afterwards, put that entirely down to relaxing. Would likely have been more critical if i were paying
Ive never recommended it.

knee fixed later that year after i eventually got referred to a physio, immediately identified a problem and fixed over about a month.

Had a frozen shoulder some years ago. It lasted for about 18 months & was incredibly painful if my arm got jolted or I had to move it suddenly. Went to the doc who sent me to physio – which did v little as I couldn’t move it above my shoulder & no end of treatment improved this. Was eventually revered for an op under general anaesthetic to manipulate it. It worked! I tok up weekly swimming which kept it mobile & it came back to 100% usage.

Shoulder joints must be the poorest piece of mechanical design – ever…..

I’ve had a couple of injuries that my gp has referred me to an NHS physio for. They were excellent both times. Mind you I live in Stafford and they’re really on their toes there. You want it on your shoulder…

Well, I’m just off for what I think will be my last session, not sure what I’m going to say.. er I’ve been on this mountain bike forum on the internet and they think your technique is rubbish..

Then I’m going to give the normal physio route a go, all that info has convinced me thanks.

I will miss the stripping down to my shreddies and her manipulating the below the waist bits, still not sure what they’ve got to do with the shoulder though.. 😳

Make sure it’s a specialist shoulder physio, or a very senior physio that comes from recommendation. I tried a couple before finding a good one. The NHS specialist was awesome, and then found an awesome private physio afterwards to continue when required. I’d still get a consultant referral in place now if I were you. Even if you don’t thing you need it right now, you’re still in the system and not then waiting 6-8 weeks for a first appointment.

If it is a frozen shoulder, expect it to get worse before it gets better, and hydrodilatation or similar might just be whats needed ho help get things moving again – I found the physio before hydrodilatation wasn’t doing a great deal, but afterwards, with the kickstart that hydrodilatation provided, it was a godsend and really helped get things back on track.

Whereabouts are you, I might be able to recommend someone?

I had an Op for a SLAP lesion 3 weeks ago. Your symptons sound like mine rather than a frozen shoulder. Get a proper diagnosis. And physio.

Hi DKR,you really need to get this injury accurately diagnosed.Since it was an overarm action that caused it, & from the description of the pain,it is very likely to be a rotator cuff injury (I am not a doctor). The treatment will be different to a frozen shoulder.If it is the rotator cuff do not be tempted to MTFU & ignore it (personal experience).
Good luck with the recovery.
Cheers
Jeff

Agreed with the above, and a frozen shoulder can often develop as a result of or alongside another injury (e.g. labral tear etc). Best get it checked out properly.

Well surprisingly I’ve got a lot more movement this week than last and I haven’t done anything else except bung some ibuprofen on for when I went sailing at the weekend, maybe it is working.

agent007 – Member

Whereabouts are you, I might be able to recommend someone?

South Kent my local hospital is William Harvey Ashford.

I think I took ibuprofen for years with mine

“Disagree with Ampthill slightly (in relation to my case) as physio was exactly what my shoulder needed and without it I’d have been left with restricted movement and a poorly functioning shoulder joint and surrounding muscles (the restricted movement of the shoulder over time can lead to muscle wastage and compensation in the effected shoulder and this is where physio really helps reverse this). Pick your physio though – some are amazing, some are next to useless. I was recommended a fantastic specialist shoulder physio by my consultant.”

That’s a fair point and maybe I should qualify what I said

My private physio knows I’m a bit skint so let me do as much as i can myself. His point was that he didn’t think pulling it around would help. He trusted me to keep working on range of movement etc. I was in the NHS system. No treatment but scene by the local consultant in case I need help

But the second freezing was less bad due to getting the right recommendations off here

Good news I’m fine now. No injections or wrenching under anesthetic

Lowest point was waking up of in the middle of the night feeling like I’d been stabbed in the back. That and worrying if I’d be able to the drives to and from work at the end of the week

Well today was week five and I can raise both arms vertically in front and to approximately the same height to the side with only minor discomfort, so it has worked compared to where I was when I started this thread, no drugs other than that couple of times I went team inburprofen for sat morning sailing, my riding is almost pain free, I’ve got one more session next week and I’d have to report it a success, I’m not 100%, but I’m back to 75 which is enough.

Take from it what you will, if you have a practitioner near you and a problem like mine it’s a lot less uncomfortable than physic, not saying I won’t go on to do that to see if I can get back to 100%, but I can certainly live with my current state, I’m no longer looking at not being able to kite or windsurf come the summer and I put the hammer down on this mornings downhill bit with no pain.