Around September of last year, I started getting random shoulder and arm pains. It would cause me pain sleeping on my right side, my best sleeping side. I would randomly get sharp stabbing pains with the oddest of movements; trying to open the car door as a passenger; trying to quickly catch a falling cell phone; trying to shift gears in the Jeep. Sharp, debilitating pain that would cause me to double over, grabbing the arm.
In December I set an appointment to see my doctor. They took X-rays and found nothing. No pinched nerves, no broken something. Possibly arthritis? But wouldn't that be dull pain? Would that cause these sharp pains? They prescribed me anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxants and sent me on my way.
Six months later, June, and I was still having problems. I could not sleep on my right side and I would wake up in pain, having moved to my right in my sleep. I could no longer raise my right arm over my head; it stopped at a 45 degree angle, not 90. I called the doctor's office again and said I could not live like this. They prescribed physical therapy. The same place I went to after my knee surgery.
My PT, a young 20-something male, checked my measurements, my range and said that due to whatever it was I had, he believed I had a frozen shoulder. He proceeded to stretch the heck out of it. Painfully at times, but by the end of the session, I already improved my range.
He's given me stretching exercises that I faithfully do at work and home on the days I don't have PT. I can say that the pain in my shoulder has gone away drastically. Maybe they stretched me enough so the pinching isn't pinching? I don't really know, but in the 2 weeks of PT, I have had exactly one day of throbbing pain and one day of the random, really debilitating pain. I am really happy about the improvement!
Off to stretch!
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