Sorry its me again!!
A long time before being diagnosed with PD I was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder which was extremely painful, didn't respond to treatment but then went away.
I have since read that this sympton is one of the earliest indications of PD and was wondering if anyone else had had this problem.
hi court . i has a frozen shoulder the yr before being diagnoised had phisio for mths was black and blue very painfull indeed .i have heard alot had it prior to diagnoises,xx
yes i had it a couple of years or more before i was diagnosed - i too have read it is an early indication of pd but i still have it - although it has moved from my right shoulder to my left now
I was diagnosed last July at the age of 50. Previous to my dx I had a very painfully stiff left hand shoulder for about three years later accompanied by a little shake in my left hand. I told my gp that I thought I may have Parkinson's and he smiled and shook his head and referred me for surgery. I had surgery on my shoulder to repair the 'damage' last February. After weeks of physio and 6 weeks in a 24 hour sling I had my follow up appt with the surgeon who asked how things were, I explained that the shoulder seemed ok, but I still have a shaky hand and finding it difficult to type. Hell broke loose with him shouting out his door 'do we have a neurologist on site'. Self panic was an understatement! Anyway I seen a neurologist the following evening and the rest is history - my neuro says by my DAT scan results I have probably had PD for 4-5 years so I would say a painful shoulder was definately an early indication. Sorry for rambling on lol x
I also went to my doctor (4 yrs before being told I had PD) with a complaint of my shoulder hurting...she put it in a sling and it froze.
I discovered that they call physical therapy PT for pain & torture! 
I've had two frozen shoulders for several years, going back to well before my P Dx 11 years ago. Cortisone injections failed to help and I can't lift my arms above the horizontal. I don't believe it has any connection with P, but it is extremely painful. It may be made worse by the P effect on muscles generally, though.
Yeah, I had the frozen shoulder too, 3 or 4 years before dx but at the time the first symptoms were appearing. A cortisone injection didn't help, but with PT and time it let up.
Glad you brought this up, Court.
hi i havePSP and had a frozen shoulder a no. of years ago - did respond to a cortisoen injection but never regained full use of ito( the left one)
jill
I too had problems with my shoulder. Went to physical therapy for awhile - didn't help so I went to a surgeon to find out that a had a torn rotator cuff - and he also said you need to see a neurologist because he felt I had something else going on because my hand/arm had tremors - sure enough the same week I was diagnosed with PD
This is my situation. Torn cuff. Did u do the surgery? I’m afraid it wil make my tremor side worse! Thanks
Deirdrez,
I have a neighbor who has a torn rotator cuff in each shoulder and has very limited arm movement with more pain than he knows what to do with! I made him a small 2 ounce spray bottle of mag oil that he can just carry in his pocket to try it out. He came back a week later and told me he couldn't believe what a difference the mag oil made for him! He told me he was going to try it on his arthritic hips next, so next time I see him I will find out how that went for him, but my experience tells me it is going to help with that too! Oh, he also asked me to make him a 16 ounce bottle of what he now calls "the sauce"!
Art
I had a frozen shoulder years before my diagnosis of PD. I had cortisone shots and was put on pain meds and it finally eased up after about 4 years. Then I got the diagnosis. What is the "twin"? I am somewhat new to this. Thanks.
Yes indeed! About 2 years prior to my PD diagnosis I had nasty right frozen shoulder.
My PD tremor (at the time I didn't know I had PD) also had started in my right hand. I had physical therapy for the shoulder and that didn't help. It took almost 1 year for the
shoulder to have normal range and strength and it seemed to heal by itself. Feel better soon.
I had the exact same experience -only 2 frozen shoulders -right one took longer and developed hand nodules and tremor when it defrosted! I read it could be a precursor to pd. Then the frozen shoulders may have been due to borderline diabetes; thyroid problem and stress! I imagine its all related.
I have always developed scar tissue. I was a gymnast, uneven bars was a specialty and was probably the culprit.
Around 2003 the pain in my right shoulder had become unbearable, I did not want to have surgery and tried everything to prevent the inevitable. The surgeon said it was almost a 100% tear and did not see how I had functoned at all with it.
After the surgery, I fell and retore the shoulder I refused surgery, then developed a frozen shoulder. PT helped tremendously though there was only one therapist I would work with, he knew what distance to take the therapy and not set things back again. My shoulder is now painful again...I am hoping to avoid surgery again...
we have been married 53 yrs . I met my husband when \i was 17 he was 20 . He suffered with very painful shoulder and tried all sorts of treatment , none of them ever worked . This continued until he was diagnosed at 72 . Since taking sinemet plus the problem seems to have eased .. Of course he has all the others now .
Yep, I had a frozen left shoulder for a long time before being diagnosed - even now it brings tears to my eyes when I remember the pain experienced while commuting to work. Changing gear was excruciating, so I finally gave in and went to a Chiropractor.
That did not help as the treatment was even more painful and I continued to get worse. The Chiropractor tested my reflexes with the old hammer on the knee trick and, getting no response, suggested I get a check-up as "something is very wrong!"No kidding, I had struggled with work and life for over a year so I already knew that deep inside but was afraid to go and be told what was wrong (my mother had died from Motor Neurone disease..... believe me I was scared)
Eventually the shoulder improved a lot without treatment, but, even stretching every day I cannot raise my left arm all the way overhead so exercise with weights can only be done as three-quarter range presses. So any new unfortunates out there reading this should know your painful shoulder almost certainly will improve given time, but you may not get full range of motion back unless you are a bit luckier than those like me.
Although my husband has most of the symptons that come with Parkinsons although once diagnosed and put onto Sinemet his shoulder pain diminished . At the same time he started to regularly do neck and shoulder roll exercises which I feel helped a great deal .
Court,
I am sooo glad you asked this question. I too had a frozen shoulder about 2 years before my PD dx. Very painful and very difficult to use that arm. It gradually thawed after much PT. My other shoulder froze up about 12 months ago, too. I was diagnosed about 6 1/2 years ago.) Not as severe as the first one, but still painful and limiting my activity just a bit.
Steve (Bisbee, AZ)
Yes, I suffered a frozen shoulder a year or so before Parkinson's was diagnosed. I received physio and the pain eventually went, but Parkinson's symptom's (tremour and small handwriting) became noticeable.
I injured my shoulder and develop a frozen shoulder 13 years before my PD diagnosis, while I was in the hospital recovering from surgery. It improved with exercise . Then in the year before my diagnosis, while I was waiting to see a neurologist, I went through two rounds of 10 physiotherapy visits, that did absolutely no good . Cortizone injections helped for six months each. After the third quarter zone injection they failed to make any difference. I am encouraged to hear that exercise can help with this, as my shoulder has become very stiff since my diagnosis six years ago.
Yes I had a frozen shoulder one year before I was diagnosed, I did a lot of massages , and still doing massages over my whole body , which help me tremendously
Yes, I had frozen shoulder 4 years before I was diagnosed. I thought it was my rotator cuff but could not find anything wrong by doctor and did rehab and over time it got better. I still am prone to having my right shoulder give me a lot of pain when PD symptoms are at their worst.
Diagnosis of PD
Frozen Shoulder Anyone?
