I have a frozen left shoulder. There is no swelling and little pain, the movement is just rstricted due to a tightening of the fascia, muscles and tendon which has moved the joint out of alignment. This also happened to my right hip but this has opened healed over a two year period - as if the contraction moved to the shoulder. I see an osteopath but progress is slow. Additionally, despite daily practice of meditation and tai chi I remain relatively reactive and highly strung, although I sleep well, I have a fast metabolism and am slim and very active. Male 45.
Hello from JAThis is a great question and right up my alley.Let me ask you.Besides the osteopathic manipulative therapy, have you had any therapy more geared to the frozen shoulder?Physiatry for example? [PM&R]?
No, but I had a frozen right shoulder of a different kind about 15 years ago which was the result of having quite badly torn tissues around the joint, I had various kinds of physio and felt most approaches to be too manual / passive. I discovered my osteo back then and gained faith in that cranio sacral holistic approach, it helped greatly but slowly. The problem, as I see it is not merely this frozen shoulder which was not caused by injury, but this tendency for muscles to protectively contract, linked to fascia linked to nervous system etc. The problem appears both acute and at the same time a recurrent pattern or tendency, given my own interest in body work, it would seem that this tendency is fairly deep, at least neither myself nor my osteo can really get hold of it. Hence the draw towards homeopathy.
OKHomeopathy is the use of a single, ultra high dilution of a single substance.Is this what you are referring to?Just so we are on the same page
Yes, although I understand there are different kinds of homeopathic practice, I am merely looking for a more informed opinion - Ammonium causticum,rhus tox etc I can look up myself.
OKFirst I am bound to say that I have run completely integrative practices using osteopathy and almost all other modalities; frozen shoulder responds very well to the correct physical therapy as prescribed by a physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist. These are MDs or DOs and they base physical therapy on a full body structural diagnosis. Nothing else in terms of somatic therapy has worked as well for this particular condition, and we needed it in conjunction with osteopathy in order to get good results. The problem is that stuck tissue has to be freed up. Rolfing is another modality that helps with this but is much more involved.Homeopathically, I would need to know your symptoms, what makes them worse, better, how weather affects them.I can help you further if you let me know this.
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Yes i understand, the adhesive encapsulatis following injury of my right shoulder which was of such severity that physio's and specialists told me I would never regain full movement and that all they could do was operate to slice tissue apart. It was completely healed through working with my osteo and my own daily movement practices. My current problem is technically a frozen shoulder in the sense that the tissues have contracted in the same way as happened with my hip, but I do not think there is any adhesion between the tissues in this case. The condition of the shoulder is stable and has been for about 6 months, i gently work with it daily, the range of movement increases just a little after a few minutes work, then does not open any more, this is unaffected by weather etc. Perhaps my case is too complex for this particular service. If so just let me know, I am thankful of your time nevertheless.
Hello again.You have not answered my questions so let's try again and I'll see if a remedy pops out.What are your symptoms.What makes them better.What makes them worse.Then there might be some follow up questions
Nothing changes with the shoulder, the symptoms as stated in the first message are stable, as I said, really, there is no pain, just an easy to assess limit to the range of movement. but perhaps you are asking a more general constitutional question, what causes the fascia to contract? I find it difficult to preceive what is going on with the fascia, Perhaps a nervous response, stress related, a kind of reactivity, too much mental activity, a sense of occasional overwhelm and turning inwards, torsion as a response, perhaps I am having trouble adapting to big life changes and things protectively contract at quite deep levels or at least beyond what I can perceive.
OkSo we have no syptomsTightnessWhat eases it upWhat makes it worse.
The shoulder symptom is as I said, restricted movement, more specifically in all directions, 10 months ago I had roughly 10% movement, 7 months ago almost half normal range and it has been stable since then. The stiffness is only a minor symptom, after 5 mins or so loosening the whole upper body I can get another inch of movement from a fully extended arm. The tissues are not restricting movement directly as in adhesive encapsulitis, they are pulling the humerus forward across the joint so that it cannot move easily against the bursa? This same thing happened with my hip. Perhaps I should rephrase my symptoms as my joints freeze up, all the tissues, it takes years for them to unfreeze, I believe it is connected to the fascia, it's response to the nervous system, I seem to have repeated what was said in earlier messages so perhaps I am unable to understand what is meant by symptom.
OKSymptomstight feelingfeeling of freezing upbetter after movementwhat elsewhat about temperatureweatherhot/coldindoors outdoorsetc.
Hmm not sure we are getting anywhere, it does not feel tight, it does not move, it is physically blocked from moving, another person cannot move it, without applying undue force. After movement the whole body loosens slightly this allows fractionally more movement everywhere the shoulder least of all. After relaxing for a day in warm weather, doing relaxing movements later in the day there may be a fractional increase in general mobility, which will then lessen again after sleeping, a little stiff in the morning - there is no clear reaction to temperature or weather, indoors or out.
OKWhat about a very hot shower?
The shoulder area itself does not respond to direct heat from shower or otherwise, probably because the contraction in the tissues that are pulling the joint out of alignment is originating elsewhere in the body, working with the upper neck, abdomen and middle back results in the fractional change described, and has the same or similar effect to a half hour session of meditation.
OKI will tell you a remedy series to try, but you should be working hands on with a classical homeopathy who can spend a number of hours with you and examin you.I wold start with a dose of arnica, 200C, one pill under the tongue, once a day for 3 days and wait 2 weeks or longer...as long as you notice improvement.If the improvement stops, then Rhus Tox, 200C, same protocol.If improvement then stops again I would consider, and that is consider..lycopodium as a constitutional remedy. This needs further analysis and work however, at that point.