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@ssbionicknee, I was not aware you could be diagnosed that quickly with frozen shoulder. I had my torn rotator fixed on June 15th, 2018. I was not allowed to even move it or begin any PT until that 6 week mark, and my mobility was extremely limited and very painful. I just had an appointment a few weeks ago (around the 16 week mark) and was told mobility is often not fully regained until closer to a full year or slightly beyond. My progress in PT has been so slow that it is beyond frustrating. Like you, I had a knee replaced, and even though that recovery was hard for me (had to have two manipulations due to aggressive scar tissue), you are right that you at least get to start PT right away.
I am closer to the 20 week mark now for my surgery, and I can say I have finally started to make some big gains with my shoulder. I am finally back to lifting some weights and doing more aggressive exercises. The mobility is still not near 100% and it is still really stiff, I am making progress.
I only bring this up, because progress when i started PT at that 6 week mark was so slow and for weeks it felt like I was getting nowhere. I still have pain at 20 weeks, but it is not near as bad. I still am not sleeping uninterrupted because it is just impossible to get in the position that I preferred to sleep in before surgery.
@ssbionicknee, may I ask how they diagnose frozen shoulder? Did they take MRIs? Were you in an immobilizing brace for 6 weeks? My ROM after I came out of my immobilizer was next to zero as well, but they said that it was normal and that shoulders are the most difficult joint to rehab.
Replies to "@ssbionicknee, I was not aware you could be diagnosed that quickly with frozen shoulder. I had..."
@JustinMcClanahan
Good Morning!
My husband has had a frozen shoulder for some time. The orthopedist did an xray and physical exam to help diagnose him. He also gave him a steroid injection to see if it would help. It didn't. My hubby went to PT for several months to work it out. Although he is somewhat better, he still needs to be careful how he stretches his arm. BTW...he is a golfer and had no problem when he golfs.
Although I never had rotater cuff issues, I have had cartilage (?) tear, twice! After the first tear, I have surgery followed by PT after an inital healing. I NEVER got my range of motion back, which made driving difficult. Those days, I exercised with hand weights and a an weight machine. I really got a high using these pieces of equipment even though that is probably what caused the tear.
I really missed using the equipment after my surgery. After several weeks I asked if I could use the weight equipment. My surgeon said it would be fine and my PT said NO!!! I went along with what I wanted to hear. So, I started with the equipment again. And what happened? I reinjured the shoulder. I was not ready in any way to have the surgery again. It was only a couple of months since the prior one. This time, I started with PT immediately as I didn't want to lose strength. I did this for several months.
When I finally had surgery, my recovery was so much better even though my doctor did a bigger surgery by also removing a bit of bone to clean up the arthritis. I was amazed how much easier it was to recover from thie! I healed much more quickly and got full range of motion back.
I AM A GREAT BELIEVER THAT PT PRIOR TO JOINT SURGERY HELPS WITH HEALING !
Good Luck!r
Ronnie (GRANDMA80
I had the surgery on Oct. 10. I was in a sling for 6 weeks. It was the one with the wedge. I was told that I could not move my upper arm away from my body. I went back on Oct. 19 and was told to go to PT and that I could sleep without the sling, but I could not move my arm away from my body. I was allowed to move it some from the elbow down. I began PT on Monday and he moved my arm. The PT worked on range of motion, which was excruciating, but I was told that I could not move it at all. I was in a lot of pain and unable to sleep, I called to refill the pain meds at 4 weeks and was told that I should not be in that much pain and normally pain meds were stopped at 2 weeks. I have a high threshold for pain and really felt like I was doing something wrong. I was given 600 mg of ibuprofen and took that with Tylenol. At my 6 weeks check which was Nov.16, I was having severe pain all down my arm. They took an x-ray, the surgeon looked at it and said it was healing fine. Then he moved it around, told me I was resisting, which I was not. That is when he came to the conclusion that I had frozen shoulder. He gave me a cortisone shot, told me to take the ibuprofen and tylenol, and to ice it. He also told me that I had to move it as much as I could. I have been moving it a lot, using biofreeze, icing it and taking the 2 meds. The surgeon also said he wanted me to have aggressive therapy. I am doing both water and land therapy. It is painful, but I am trying to get the ROM back. I can only lift 5 pounds in my hand. I feel like I am being rushed. They repaired 3 tendons, reattached my bicep, which was torn from the shoulder, shaved arthritis off the clavicle and shaved off a bone spur. What all did you have done. I was also told no more sling after 6 weeks.
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@JustinMcClanahan When I worked in O.R in the 70,s Dr gave orders to get people up out of bed and started to moving slowly but no P. T yet but to move the muscles or they started to get stiff then that causes more pain