Have been suffering with a very painful shoulde... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,151 members160,832 posts

Have been suffering with a very painful shoulder for about three months.

beanyjeany profile image
20 Replies

GP referred me to physio, who has given me exercises, but tbh they haven't really helped. So, I decided to have a look on the internet, and, surprise surprise, Frozen shoulder - which was the diagnosis - could have some association with thyroid disease!!! I have Hashimotos. Thoroughly disgusted!! Is there any part of the body the thyroid gland DOESN'T affect? Grrrr. Merry Christmas by the way!!

Written by
beanyjeany profile image
beanyjeany
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
20 Replies

I feel for you, can you put a coat on? I had one frozen shoulder for quite a while - it did get better :) (with a little help from an osteopath) then the other one's turn - but that 'coincidently' disappeared as soon as I had my thyroid op.

I didn't know of a connection then either. Hopefully it will ease with the correct treatment - are you on Levo? & checked your vitamins/minerals too? (Irons ferratin, folate & B12, Vit D3 for starters). Who'd have thought a pesky little gland was associated with so many ailments. :(

Merry Christmas to you too (& keep warm!) Jane :D

parafluie profile image
parafluie

I had frozen shoulder several years ago so I know whereof you speak. I went to a NeuroMuscular Therapist (NMT) Paul St. John, (father of the St John Method of NMT) in Florida. He worked on my shoulder--and it hurt while he went deeply in. And when I got up, I was 90% better. I could swing my arm and make circles (and erase the whiteboard myself). I was amazed. Took only 2 more appts to be 100% cured! There are hundreds/thousands of people trained by Paul over the years. Now I go to someone closer to my house, who trained with and worked with him.

Now I'm aware of the thyroid connection (in fact, my feet hurt this morning which is a clear indicator to me that I must raise my T3) that helps some. But my advice to you is to find someone who does deep-tissue massage, trigger-point therapy, and/or NMT. Ask for qualifications and training and expertise in shoulder issues before you go. tinyurl.com/bbjzl49 or with UK added tinyurl.com/b869xde searches to get you started.

Good luck!

Ansteynomad profile image
Ansteynomad

I had this issue for years - took me two and a half years to go through the NHS system only to have a rheumatologist tell me in the end that there was nothing wrong! Strangely enough it went away when I first started taking T3 and came back when I stopped.

Also, when I was taking T3, my knees were so bad that after trying physio and getting no improvement, I paid to see a knee specialist who told me I needed arthoscopy and a partial replacement. As soon as I stopped the T3 my knees were better than they have been in years! Pleased I found this out before I had the surgery!

AN

vanessa2 profile image
vanessa2

Had the same problem, then got pain in the other shoulder could not even move my arm to put my coat on. Now have taken myself off Levo and self medicate on Armour and all the pain has dissapeared. G.P. just said it was old age and artheritis. Had physio as well, now total pain free.

fennel profile image
fennel

I believe it is just another symptom that is due to undertreatment, and will go away with the correct dose. How much money does the NHS waste providing services such as consultant appointments and physio for something that a few more pills will resolve. you would think they had money to throw away and they are forever bleating that they don't have enough money to offer proper services.

Christabel profile image
Christabel

Had two frozen shoulders - it started 2005 - and all sorts of treatment, including an operation.

No dice.

The it morphed into fibromyalgia. I also have foot trouble.

Quite agree with fennel.

in reply to Christabel

Are you being treated for hypothyroidism?

ritz profile image
ritz

same thing..........cured by several trips to good osteopath - i now go about twice a year which keeps it at bay along with tendentious and general neck and back pain :)

Pollybostik profile image
Pollybostik

I too have had so called Frozen shoulder. I took the herbal remedy which is called Bosweliia which is a natural anti inflammatory. It worked for me and when it occurred in my other shoulder I knew just what to take. I would suggest to anyone to see an herbalist to see if this could work for you.

I had a lot of pain around my shoulders, top of the arm and neck and was developing fibromyalgia with trigger points. The osteopath helped enormously with massage and craniosacral treatments. Some docs, if you are very lucky, have an osteopath attached to their surgery, but otherwise you pay. I found the physio didn't do any good, no hands-on treatment. It took around six to eight treatments plus some vitamins and minerals for all the aches to improve. Traditional Chinese medicine also helped.

Christabel profile image
Christabel

With what I've spent on ineffective treatments, I could have bought at least one car!

OUTOFSYNC profile image
OUTOFSYNC

Me too Chillyfeet !!

Awaiting appointment with physio after more than a year of pain in left shoulder.

And no - because the thyroid affects the working of ever cell in the body! It follows that to some degree or other - every part of us is weakened or changed in some way - if we are not correctly medicated.

The b***** is that our highly paid Doctors are completely oblivious to this fact. Or rather they are not (because how could they have passed all those exams if they were that stupid)

but are simply ignoring this piece of information. It conflicts with there 'easy peasy' - 'gold standard' - simple to treat' - 'blood tests don't lie' - 'whats all the fuss about' treatment model!

Paaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!

OOS X

greenginger profile image
greenginger

Hi I am off to see physio tomorrow after years of problems and no joy from GP. I am hyper with Graves. In the end my hubby saw a leaflet at the surgery and I phoned the physio and self referred myself. I will let you know how i go on.

greenginger profile image
greenginger in reply to greenginger

Quick update - went to physio and she was great. I thought it was my shoulder and she initially over the phone said it could be neck. Wrong it was my spine. All my muscles are extremely tight and my spine is partially fused, probably due to some old damage. Anyway I have exercises similar to Yoga moves that help with the stiffness and I had her work on my back. Sore next day but big improvement now. Back in 3 weeks for more of same. Go to the physio, go now!!

beanyjeany profile image
beanyjeany

Thanks everyone, going to try your suggestions!! At least it gets me out of Christmas wrapping, OH is doing it this year. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Healthier 2013 xx

Kangagirl profile image
Kangagirl

I had two frozen shoulders, the first one a couple of years before being diagnosed HypoT. Went for a year in ever increasing agony until I couldn't move my right arm or hand at all in any direction. Had to even write left handed because even tiny movements of fingers were impossible. Also it's impossible to lie down properly with it for some reason, so you have to try and sleep semi sitting up which is hopeless. By the time I got some NHS physio it had gone too far and she could only do ultrasound which was useless. All painkillers ineffective. The only temporary relief I could get was to run a hot shower on it - don't know why this helped, but it did. It really did help, albeit temporarily.

In the end I had to beg my then dr for an injection - she got it in the wrong place but then referred me to a specialist who got it right and the result was miraculous. I knew nothing about any connection with thyroid or autoimmune diease or anything at the time. I thought it was caused or at least aggravated by years of carrying art portfolios that weighed as much as I did. It was just total bliss to have the pain go and movement restored, (over a period of several days, it wasn't instant), although the shoulder will never be 101% and I have to be careful carrying things and to keep it warm in cold weather because it will ache.

4 years later (diagnosed HypoT by now) the other one started to go the same way and this time I went to the surgery early and said forget the physio, forget painkillers, give me the injection. We had moved by then - this dr also got it in the wrong place, and rather than wait months for it to get worse while waiting for a referral I had the injection privately. The guy was keen to operate - ha ha - for one thing I couldn't afford it, and for another he said 'of course there's the strong possibility they could break your arm' - and I do very badly under anaesthetics, so I went for the jab. Right or wrong, it did the trick - I had no idea of anything else I could do - just knew what I was in for if I didn't get it sorted out ASAP.

Thankfully it worked at the time for me, not sure what I would do if it happened now. I doubt if it would be as straightforward as getting your GP to give you an injection - they probably don't even know how. Would they refer you? Who knows. They certainly wouldn't connect it to the thyroid.

A couple of years ago I stupidly carried a really heavy piece of board quite some distance, and my right shoulder felt exactly as if it was 'going' again. I strapped it up with a crepe bandage as tightly as I could bear from wrist to shoulder and put it in a sling so it was immobilised against my chest (all the wrong things I think, but it helped the pain). I got a book from Amazon which concentrated on massaging 'trigger points' on the back of the shoulder, and tried to do what it said, although I didn't really understand it.

After a couple of weeks of this the pain eased and the shoulder got better. It may have got better anyway, but it had certainly felt as if it was going the same way as before. So there are obviously things you can do if it hasn't gone too far. But for me, especially with the first one, the only thing that worked was the steroid injection.

Kanga x

rbhakhri profile image
rbhakhri in reply to Kangagirl

hi kanga i can understand what u must hv gone through,as im suffering the same with my shoulder.nothing is helping at the monent,but going to c a physo.lets c if it. will help,also .i hv bad knee,and siatica. i take lots of painkillers.

Kangagirl profile image
Kangagirl in reply to rbhakhri

Hi rbhakhri, I hope the physio can do something for you. I can only go by my own experience when I say it wasn't any use for me - it had gone too far and I couldn't move it at all in any direction by the time the GP decided it was more than just 'pain in the arm' and allowed me to have a physio appointment.

Even to have somebody touch it was agony so it wasn't possible to manipulate it or do exercises - it was literally stuck fast, or 'frozen'. And unbelievably painful, I know you'll know all about that. :-( I had several sessions of ultrasound on it but it didn't make a bit of difference. If yours is at an earlier stage, maybe the physio can do some good though. Luckly for me I didn't have knee problems or sciatica, that must make the whole thing even more hard to bear.

As I said before, holding it under a hot shower was the only way I could get temporary relief. I don't know what happens with yours, but sometimes the pain just ratcheted up from agonising to utterly unbearable for no particular reason, and it would be a case of my husband tearing my clothes off my top half because I couldn't do it myself, so I could get it under the hot running water as quickly as possible! 'Tearing my clothes off' wasn't as interesting as it sounds I'm afraid. :-D But the hot water really does help even if you can't stay like that for very long. For some reason the wet heat was more effective than the usual good old standby of a hot water bottle. Pretty low tech, but worth a try when it gets really bad. I only had a rubber shower thing that fitted on to the taps, so it wasn't anything fancy. I just used to kneel on the floor and hang my arm over the bath, then run the water on it until the pain went down a few notches.

Painkillers tend to really upset my stomach, so I tried to do without, and the hospital lent me a Tens machine, but that didn't help either, so in the end it was a case of begging for the injection.

Good luck with the physio, I really feel for you.

Kanga xx

chrissy122 profile image
chrissy122

sorry l have the same thyroid to no nothing helps l tried it all my GP is calling me now highpercondract. l have no symptom's like that all in my head. then 2 years a go l went in to hospital with heart got treated for heart the doctors here in Victoria are saying l have nothing was not treated for that, need to get of the medicine they put me on now. but l have not done that l am looking for a new doctor now. they are full of them selves.

hairyfairy profile image
hairyfairy

I had a very painful condition called impingment syndrome about 3 years a go, needing physio & an injection of steriods into the affected shoulder. I couldn`t remember doing anything to cause it, but Iv`e been on Levothyroxine for 2 years, & now the shoulder is back to normal.

You may also like...

Three periods this month and three months of back pain. Can this be down to underactive thyroid?

periods which have lasted 4 days with all the usual menstrual symtoms. In addition to this I have...

Is anyone else suffering from aches and pains in their legs, feet and shoulders?

been suffering from pains in my feet, knees and shoulders. Some days I barely feel a thing; others...

Does anyone suffer with very swollen and painful forefingers, hands, wrists and knees?

which makes me tearful and useless. I have to take thyroid meds in the morning on an empty stomach...

Glad I found this support :) It has been a very hard 6 months.

was discovered in Dec. 2016 that I have hypo thyroidisim. I have been struggling with weight gain,...

Shoulder pain

symptoms and was surprised to read that thyroid disease is a risk factor for frozen shoulder and...