Can anyone help with exercises info for frozen shoulder after mastectomy and radiotherapy have done their worst.
Hi Abby
Sorry to hear about your shoulder problems. I had, and still do have to certain extent even after more than four years. They are misery, aren’t they?
Not sure about what exercises to do. (I have a few I do myself, not sure if they would be suitable, but I can describe on here if you’re interested). I think you should insist on being referred to a specialist physio asap; or go private if you can afford it and can’t stand the wait.
In the meantime, my other suggestion would be to get some prescription strength painkillers to try to make some headway in breaking ‘the circle of pain’.
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Hi Abby,
Sorry to hear about your frozen shoulder it is a horrible thing to have .
Ive had a frozen shoulder since finishing Rads in feb 08 so i know how very painfull it is, i had very limited range of motion at the time and was refered for weekly physio where they gave me exercises to do with a thearband, unfortuneately for me after 12 weeks of physio it wasnt working so i was refered to an orthopedic consultant who ive been seeing every 3 mths for cortizone shots. The shots have realy helped with the pain and the inflamation and gave me some much needed relief.
Now 14 mths on my shoulder is much better though my range of motion is still only 75% .I was told by my orthopedic consultant that a frozen shoulder has 3 stages (The Freezing) which is the most painfull part then the (frozen) and thirdly the Thawing where the shoulder starts to resolve. It can take some time for a frozen shoulder to resolve sometimes ,i was told up to 2 years Grrr,But hopefully if you can get some physio started early on it should help you.
I also found a heat pad or ice pack helped too so mabe worth a try.
Do ask your Gp for a referal to physio ,(i only had to wait about 2 weeks) then hopefully you should be able to start getting some relief soon.
Good luck
All the best
Lindiloo x
Hi Abby
I sympathise completely, having had a frozen shoulder some years ago; its a horrible condition in its own right, so must be doubly awful on top of everything else you’ve been through.
Mine was pre BC, and my GP hadn’t a clue what it was, still less how to treat it, so after months of pain I paid to see a private physio. Best thing I ever did - promptly obtained an accurate diagnosis (damage to a specific tendon, but with the pain referred to my upper arm), then was given the appropriate set of exercises. (You might be given a very diff exercise plan, of course, depending which bit is actually damaged.)
I regained 95% of the movement within a couple of weeks, in fact the only bit that never came back was the ability to do the yoga pose ‘head of a cow’ on the affected side (so doesn’t exactly impact on normal life very much…).
I must admit it was very painful to do the exercises initially, but I persevered - the physio emphasised that movement is the only long-term cure for this type of injury, resting it makes it far worse.
Make sure the person you’re referred to is experienced with BC patients - all the very best for a successful referral and treatment,
with love
Rosie
Hi,
I would be interested Bahons as to what excercises you find helpful, my shoulders dont seem to be getting any better with the ones Im doing at the moment. The physio Im seeing isnt a BC one, and pushes my arms backwards which hurts ALOT!! I believe no pain no gain, but theres no gain!
thanks
Get referred to a physio if she’s as good as mine !! I had aching shoulder between mx and rads so she gave me exercises and then went back after rads for more. Developed lymphoedema in shoulder/neck/trunk area so she put kinesio tape on to sort that but I still had poor movement in my shoulder. We left the poor movement alone as it was more important to reduce the swelling from lymphoedema. I then became allergic to the tape in Feb 09 so have had some lymph massage to keep that under control and am now on intensive physio to improve frozen shoulder. It’s working well at the mo - I’ve got a lot more movement and less stiffness/tightness. Been lucky in that I have had all this treatment on the NHS since Jan 08 and have a fab physio who specialises in bc and other ladies things.
Hope you get something sorted quickly.
I had a frozen shoulder last year and I entered “frozen shoulder” into Google and found an American website with very helpful exercises. They try to get you to buy their books and tapes, but if you don’t (I didn’t) they send little videos to your email address showing someone doing the exercises. After only a short time I found it helped a lot.
Hi Abby
I had a frozen shoulder - probably developed mid last year - and I thought it would never be fixed. I saw an orthopaedic surgeon who did a manipulation under anaesthetic. I also had a cortisone injection done in conjunction with ultrasound, then physiotherapy straight afterwards. I was taking painkillers for the pain, and it was horrible. Heat pads are also quite useful. Anyway, the shoulder finally resolved by the end of the year, and is fine now. They say you can’t get it twice (on the same side) so that’s gotta be a good thing.
The only restriction I have now is due to the surgery into the armpit which has made movement a bit ‘tight’.
My mastectomy was 18 months ago, and was followed by chemo and radiation. I thought it would all never end! Now I’m considering a TRAM flap reconstruction. I’m 61 and Australian, living in Australia.
It all just takes time, and you will get movement back.
All the best,
ScrabbleNut
I have found this on the net I think I will have a go.
yess.uk.com/patient_information/leaflets/frozen_shoulder.pdf
Thanks Abby, Ive printed it off and will def give it a go,
Bump for Peacock
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Hi All
I’ve actually had a problem with one of my shoulders for 3 years now, long before BC and with the other shoulder for about a year. Movement is extremely difficult, nothing helps the pain and I just wish I could get a good nights sleep!
It’s being related to my diabetes, as apparently people with diabetes often have this problem, “capsilitis”. I am at the end of my tether with it.
I’ve been going to physio since my mx, she stretches my arms backwards which is really painful and doesn’t seem to be doing any good.
They’ve mentioned arthroscope treatment, has anyone had this?
I’m glad I’m not alone, but sorry that you are all suffering too.
P xx
Hi Peacock. I broke my shoulder in a skiing accident 3 years ago and a year later they finally decided to operate and did so using arthroscopic techniques. Basically, arthroscopy is keyhole surgery. Sometimes I think they use it just as a diagnostic tool, but it is possible to perform a complete repair. They managed to repair a large rotator cuff tear and do a subacromial decompression on my shoulder. I had three incisions, one at the front, one at the back and one at the side of the shoulder. The incisions are only about 1cm. I think the only downside is that the surgery takes longer, but it is less invasive.
Hope this helps.