Frozen Shoulder Anyone?

[shanaandbear]

I fell in the garden doing yardwork last August and broke my left (tremor) arm. When I went for physical therapy, the PT said I also had a frozen shoulder. From my research, frozen shoulder is not uncommon in PWPD. True? If so, what did you do to recover? I’m still struggling with it. Thanks!

[Hidden]

Some people are able to get relief from frozen shoulder by applying magnesium chloride oil (mag oil) to the problem shoulder and related areas to reduce inflammation and relax the muscles. Once it starts to loosen up your shoulder, your physical therapist can start you on stretching exercises to help return range of motion. The mag oil will make the stretching exercises easier and much more tolerable.

Mag oil is very useful in PD for many muscle related problems like stiffness and cramps and is well absorbed through the skin.

Art

[shanaandbear in reply to Hidden]

Thank you! Where can I buy that oil?

[Hidden in reply to shanaandbear]

amazon.com/Life-Flo-Magnesi...

It is also good for arthritic pain anywhere on the body!

I have written about mag oil as it relates to PD here:

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

Art

[shanaandbear in reply to Hidden]

THANK YOU!👍

[Hikoi]

I got sore shoulder 9 yrs before diagnosisL it ached for years but no problems since I started madopar

[Goldencbc]

I developed frozen shoulder following a car accident one year before I was officially diagnosed. I eventually needed surgery and it has taken almost 2 years to recover from the surgery and my shoulder still hurts at times. It is also in my tremor arm. I still have to do weekly exercises for it..

[Hidden in reply to Goldencbc]

Give the mag oil a try! It may also be able to help if there are any calcifications in the area of the surgery. It's cheap, non-invasive, effective and easy to get and apply while offering other health benefits!

Art

[Goldencbc in reply to Hidden]

Thanks Art. I will definitely try it..I have leg pain as well.

[Hidden in reply to Goldencbc]

Goldencbc,

It may help with that also!

Read this whole post and replies from last night regarding mag oil :

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

Art

[PDGal4 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the recommendation and link. I have been using a magnesium 'butter' I bought at my acupuncturist's office which is 4 times the cost of this. Definitely going to give this a try. I too have shoulder pain (surgery in 2012 for torn rotator cuff and biceps tendon), as well as neck pain every night. Also find the topical magnesium works when I awake at 4.00 am with that internal tremor feeling in my left arm.

[Hidden in reply to PDGal4]

Since you are used to using a "butter", this one might be more to your liking :

amazon.com/Life-Flo-Magnesi...

This one is like a lotion. It is a coconut oil based cream with the magnesium chloride in it. It may be a little too oily for some people.

Art

[PDGal4 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, Art, I actually ordered both.

[Hidden in reply to PDGal4]

PDGal4,

Please let us know how it compares with the more expensive product you were using. Also, if it works well for you, you can also make your own much less expensively than even this spray that you are going to test. Your results will be very useful for forum members, because mag oil is useful for multiple issues related to PD!

Art

[PDGal4 in reply to Hidden]

Happy to. Prompt me in a few weeks if I forget. What other issues is it useful for besides muscle stiffness and pain?

[Hidden in reply to PDGal4]

It is also useful for sprains, strains, neck tension headaches, carpal tunnel pain, nerve pain in some people, over exerted muscles, stiff neck, arthritis, cramps in arms, hands, fingers, legs, feet and toes. It can be helpful for sciatica, frozen shoulder, torn rotator cuff pain and anything else that magnesium is good for because it is also absorbed into the body through the skin. Some people report that oral and topical magnesium helps them sleep. It can be used as a massage oil to amplify the effects of the massage and relax the muscles even more. Some people find that it can help their psoriasis, but it does not do that for me. There are whole books dedicated to the benefits and uses of magnesium. Also helpful for the pain of Fibromyalgia!

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/263...

Art

[PDGal4 in reply to Hidden]

Art,

I posted this somewhere else, and not sure how to best track my comparisons, but someone asked about the ingredients in the butter, which were right on the container, and I compared with ingredients listed on Amazon for the lotion. Pasting below. Any initial thoughts? My Amazon lotion doesn't arrive until Monday.

Good Life Mg Butter: Extra virgin coconut oil, whole plant hemp extract, unrefined shea butter, beeswax, magnesium chloride, proprietary essential oil blend of frankincense, myrrh, lavender, arnica, German chamomile, helichrysum.

I did look up the essential oils, and many are cited for inflammation. Amazon does not sell Good Life product. I just looked it up on their site, and it's $115 for 1.5 oz. The acupuncturist charged me $75.

By contrast, the Life-Flo Magnesium Lotion is $9.95 for 8 oz. Ingredients are purified water, magnesium oil (magnesium chloride brine), cocos nucifera (coconut oil), caprylic/capric triglyceride, glycerine, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), glyceryl stearate, catearyl glucoside, natural vanilla oil, hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, potassium sorbate, citric acid, and xanthan gum (cannot vouch for all the spellings)

[Hidden in reply to PDGal4]

My initial thoughts are that the butter product you are using has some nice ingredients in it! I think the main considerations are how well it works for the purpose and how does it compare to the new product that you ordered in terms of doing what you want which is mainly pain relief? If they both were effective for the purpose you are using it, then I would opt for the much less costly Life-Flo mag oil or the even less expensive home made version that I use myself. On a per ounce cost basis, your butter product is at an extreme of expensive at roughly $50 per ounce! If it works well, that may be worth it to some people, but if you have to apply it to large areas of the body everyday for pain relief and muscle relaxation, the butter product then becomes cost prohibitive for most people.

I can't tell anyone what to do, but for myself, if I was going to be using a product of this type for a larger area of my body on a daily basis, I would not spend for the butter product even if it slightly outperformed the basic mag oil product. I think the butter product is overpriced for what is in it and believe I can add ingredients to the mag oil that I make that will perform at least as well as the butter product and still be much much less expensive and that is of course assuming that mag oil by itself is not equivalent or similar in its action. Until you have actually tested and compared the products side by side though, it is premature to make a decision as far as what to do. On that note, I am anxious to hear your thoughts on the new product compared to the old product. So as soon as it comes in and you can compare them, we can revisit this subject and consider the options!

Art

[ddmagee1]

I've had problems with my left shoulder for years, long before PD diagnosis. I broke the humerus bone in that arm, years ago, and had a frozen shoulder, from my arm being in a full plaster cast, for months. Went to physical therapy for range of motion exercises, which I'm still doing 40 years later. My left arm has gone out of socket three times, in the last 40 years, when I've lost my balance and fallen. It's at the point now, where it's sore every day, and I do not have full range of motion, but enough to get by. I have a small year in the rotator cuff, according to x-rays, but I am reluctant to go under the knife, at my age.

[gaga1958]

I had both shoulders freeze in consecutive years. first right froze and was so painful. a year later I was still in pain and then the left side froze. PT didnt help. I ended up getting

a cortisone shot in each shoulder as the pain was so bad. That was about 1-2 yrs before I was diagnosed. I was surprised to hear from my workout coach that it was common to have in folks with PD. I wish I'd know about the mag oil spray to try back then.

[6780]

I had several injuries to my rt shoulder over the years. it developed arthritis and for a 2 year period my right scapula was trying to grow a hump. I tried everything over a two year period even rolfing. I eventually got 10 neuromuscular injections into the area. the hump never tried to grow again. my rt shoulder/arm still has somewhat limited motion in backward positions but for most things it is serviceable. I know people who have had joint surgery and are totally better. surgery for me is risky due to a clotting disorder.

see pain management doctor at your hospital for advice. c

[Pnyldy]

I had this condition several years ago when first diagnosed with PD. My father lent me a book and I’ll try to get the title for you. It was written by a physician. Basically, it involved slowly stretching that arm up a little at a time until ultimately (over a period of weeks) you could hang from a bar by your hands. Honestly it hurt like hell for awhile. But, it worked. No meds, no supplements, no therapy sessions. Beautiful! Now I hang by my hands a couple of times a week and my shoulder stays free.

[shanaandbear in reply to Pnyldy]

I would love to know the name of your book! Thanks!

[Pnyldy in reply to shanaandbear]

You bet. Just heard from my father. The book is “Shoulder Pain? The Solution and Prevention” by Dr. John M Kirsch, MD-Orthopedic Surgeon. Let me know if you can’t find a copy and please keep us posted about your progress!

[SilentEchoes]

I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder. It reduced the pain enough to start using my arm again and I could hear the adhesions snapping. I recently learned of PRP Therapy and have been using the eyedrops for my dry eyes. They've had success treating joint injury. I'm going this route when the cortisone wears off. (*edit: in addition to the physical therapy I'm already getting). Best Wishes.

google.com/url?sa=t&source=...

[Hidden in reply to SilentEchoes]

SilentEchoes,

For the ""dry eyes"", I just apply clear and colorless aloe vera gel on the outside of the eye to the upper and lower eyelids. It works very well for me and is much cheaper than some of the high priced eye drops of which I have used many. It stung my eyes a little the first couple of times because I wasn't careful and got a little in my eyes, but after that, the aloe has been wonderful and I am no longer spending a small fortune on eye drops! I just get the cheap clear one at Walmart.

Art

[nsofka]

A frozen right shoulder was my very first pd symptom. A year later when it finally relaxed I was left with a tremor in my right hand. Then 5 years later I got a frozen left shoulder and I have pd on my left side. Stretching it out is key. Every day I would lay down on the floor and stretch my arms over my head and down my sides. Like making snow angels.

[jennrich]

Having had frozen shoulder in both shoulders (at least 20 years apart) my experience is that it takes a very long time to get back to 100%. Took me about 1 1/2 - 2 years in each case. Very painful and annoying. Neither time was there anything to attribute it to. I work our constantly (weight training, yoga, HIIT, etc.) so it was not for lack of movement. PT is the best thing for it. Get the exercises on line if you want and then be consistent and persistent in doing them. The snow angel thing mentioned above (with palms facing up) is the best! So painful at first you want to cry, but soon you will see improvement. (I do not have PD; my husband does.) Also an interesting note is that my orthopedist said it is rare to have frozen shoulder more than once in the same shoulder. So I think I'm done with it! Best of luck!

[Designer25]

I had frozen shoulder as well. I had a PT that gently stretched my shoulders and we did resistance exercises with my hands pushing against hers. It was uncomfortable but she did not believe in causing excruciating pain. She gave me several exercises to do at home. The point of that was to keep moving my arms. She had me order from amazon a pulley that attaches to the top of the door. You sit on a chair and pull your arms up to the point that it gets a little uncomfortable. I thought that was the most helpful thing I did for my recovery because when I started treatment I couldn't raise my arms very high. After a few months I recovered. I hope you feel better very soon. It can be very painful.

[shanaandbear in reply to Designer25]

Thank you! My PT was a little too aggressive. After the tenth visit, I stopped going because the pain in my arm from the therapy was too great. I wish I’d had your PT. I will keep doing my home exercises and get through this somehow.