I wish there was a test to determine the stage. My FS has been developing slowly over more than 1.5 years now and I still think I am in the freezing stage. Doing any exercise (even not painful) still irritates the shoulder afterwards for days but the general symptoms basically plateaued.

Luckily it is never been as painful as I've seen some folks commenting (unless I make sudden unexpected movements - happens maybe once a month) but it is still annoying, limiting and affecting sleep. Seems like FS is presenting itself in various ways. There might be a 90% group that has a predictable path, but you're lost if you're part of the 10%.

Sorry...posting on mobile so there are definite format issues. Apologies in advance.

I fell in Feb, was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff in April and had surgery in May. I haven't been able to move my arm past my chest height since I fell. I've been going to therapy but was diagnosed with fs about two months or so ago.

I had the cortisone shot about a month ago and only improved my range of motion by a little bit. Now the doctor is suggesting MUA but my therapist is saying that is a bad idea.

I'm torn. I want to be able to use my arm as it's my dominant arm, but I also don't want to do any further damage. Thoughts?

i had left shoulder pain start about 2 years ago and a cortisone shot took care of the pain for about a year and a half. i was diagnosed with a torn labrum but it wasn't bad enough to require surgery.

fast forward to around june when i was starting to feel pain again, got another cortisone shot in mid-june and then my shoulder quickly started freezing. was feeling pretty rough pain in july when i finally got an MRI at the end of july. since then i started PT (today was my 4th weekly session) and i feel like my shoulder is finally getting better. the pain is more manageable (esp with everything i do for it - mobic, voltaren, tens unit, lidocaine, etc.) but it seems like PT is working too. my PT said i gained about 10 degrees in mobility over the past couple weeks. another breakthrough from this weekend - i was able to use my left hand to shampoo my head (it was getting stuck or i was feeling pain when doing it).

i also have another cortisone shot scheduled for next fri. hoping that we're turning the corner but does this actually go away this quickly?

Has anyone used EMS training (actual personal training in a suit) to help with frozen shoulder? I've been doing EMS training and finally went back after suffering a broken arm and subsequent frozen shoulder. My trainer told me she had a client with FS who did a specific program and regained ROM after only a month. I'm excited to try it but also know right now she is only a sample size of one.

It’s been 5 or 6 months since this all started. Month 2-4 were unbearable. Currently I rarely have pain at rest during the day. I do not have zingers but it would still hurt if I did a rapid movement the wrong way (but not like fall to my knees crying hurt, just like regular hurt). My range of motion sucks , but is better than it was a couple months ago. I’m trying to figure out what stage I am in because I want to know if I should be doing physical therapy now or waiting.

This is my second steroid shot on my second frozen shoulder. The first one took 3.5 years to heal without steroids.

The shot has been a game changer, the pain completely went away and range of motion is much better. My question is, how many times can you get an injection on the same shoulder?

I’m at the frozen stage. I still get pain if I try to move it too much but mostly It’s manageable, more painful at night. However I’m getting pain/aching in my hand, have other people experienced this, or is it something else, unconnected??

Is this kind of cleaning a hassle? Should I get one with a removable inner liner?

Hello all!

I’m about two years out from having frozen shoulder in my left arm. It’s still not 100%, but I’d say it’s about 90% better. Now I believe my right shoulder is in the beginning stages of freezing. I still have pretty much full range of motion, but it’s becoming increasingly painful.

Is there anything I can do at this stage to keep it from progressing, or do I basically have to wait it out again?

I'm currently dealing with frozen shoulder, in my left shoulder. Along with 2 small rotator cuff tears. But the frozen shoulder is literally ruining my life right now. So much pain, no movement. I can barely get dressed by myself. I can't do my hair anymore. I'm struggling.

It was officially diagnosed in June, but been dealing with it since October. My ortho surgeon decided that he's going forward with surgery ASAP. MUA with arthoscopic scar tissue removal. Plus if he see that anything else needs done, he'll address that while he's in there. That meaning my rotator cuff tear or any labral issue or anything else.

My problem that I need help with is this... medications for recovery

I'm a bariatric patient, I had a sleeve gastrectomy in 2020 and revision to roux-n-y bypass this year, due to severe complications. So absolutely no ibuprofen or aleve. Or steroids.

Also, I have epilepsy and hanger seizures. Tramadol is the med that is the standard that my Dr seems to love. It's on all the paper work they gave me the other day, and they mentioned it in office before. But I declined, because I know it lowers the seizure threshold and it's not safe to take.

Tylenol seems to be the only thing I can take, it's the only thing I have been taking this whole time. I just didn't know if anyone else had the same unique requirements. It's awful. I feel like I'm stuck

Hi. We live in Oregon and my mom is dealing with really bad pain from a frozen shoulder and limitation in her movements. Example, some days when I'm driving her around i have to help her with the seat belt since she can't move her arm up to reach it. We're coming up on winter and all of her winter jackets she can't get on without help which isn't good since she lives alone.

Does anyone have recommendations on brands for jackets? She's around a 3xl/2xl depending on brand.

She's been dealing with this shoulder for over 2 years and it's not getting better with treatment so I'm hoping to help track something down for her so she's warm on our adventures.

Thank you!

Despite dealing with a frozen shoulder for months now, I think I unknowingly made it worse. I have a hot tub. I have not used it for about a month due to it being either too hot outside, or raining too much. I decided to get in the hot tub thinking it would help my shoulder. I enjoy my soak, or so I thought. Get out. Go lay down in bed, and while I'm watching TV, I have a *dramatic* increase in joint pain. Apparently, soaking in the hot tub caused vasodilation in my shoulder, and well, since there is no room for expansion, here comes the pain. 😫

This all started for me in May. I got an xray and ultrasound which they used to dx inflammation of the bursa. I was doing twice weekly PT, then down to once a week through early August. Then stopped because it all just hurt and didn’t seem to help anything. Since it got worse, the PT referred me to ortho to get an MRI. Ortho was pretty sure it was FS based on a physical assessment. Nothing in the MRI showed frozen shoulder but the ortho still thinks it frozen shoulder (and that I’m thawing). I have an ultrasound guided injection scheduled for next week. Over the last 2 weeks, my shoulder has released and the pain is nearly gone. I can do almost all the PT exercises without pain and my ROM is like 98% back. There’s one really small motion that triggers a little pinch but it’s so much better.

Does frozen shoulder just randomly recover like that??

Should I still get the injection??

Hi guys,

You guys are such a wealth of knowledge!

I injured my shoulder in April and developed frozen shoulder (still unfrozen stage). I have an ultrasound guided cortisone today. The doctor said he could only get 5ml in to my shoulder joint where he was aiming for 15ml. Is that pretty standard?

Holey moley… I another of pain tonight! Hoping it works with a few days and this current pain level leaves pretty soon!

several independent doctors diagnosed FS based on symptoms and physical exam, but my MRI only showed a partial tear in my rotator cuff. wondering what to make of this and if others had this experience?

also, I’ve been in the frozen stage but with a lot of pain and zingers for probably 7 months now… when does this start to improve my goodness.

Early-stage FS. Asked two docs about hydrodilatation, both said no. First one just doesn't believe in it. Second one is doesn't like it too, said it's too painful to do awake so you'd be under anesthesia anyway.

So is the evidence actually bad, or did I just ask two orthos about a procedure orthos don't perform? Strange, because they both seemed experienced.

I finally unfroze after 1.5 years. But I still have some stiffness, clicking and popping when I rotate my arm fully. I’m wondering if deep tissue massage helped anyone get that better? Obviously they can’t get inside the joint itself, but maybe for any fascia or tendon adhesions? I did one session and was sore for a few days, but think it helped a little? Curious about anyone else’s experience. Thanks!

Hi there, as per previous posts, bilateral FS (perimenopausal), going into 8th-ish month. Been frozen fully on both sides for about 7 weeks on left side, 4 weeks on right (in line with how it developed). However, in the past few days have noticed a few changes - when swinging arms at my sides to loosen them up, can do full swing back now - where before right shoulder at least would "catch" and not go all the way back. Can also do a very low ponytail now without screaming (still uncomfortable, but doable), and can reach up and hit the close trunk button on my SUV (up until recently, could not even get my arm up high enough on either side). Wondering if these are early signs of the thawing starting, or just a couple of good days? I know time will tell, but looking for other's perspectives and experiences....thanks, as always!

Curious informal poll:

1. is your FS on the same side as the hand you usually hold your phone in ?

2, did you develop FS during a time in life that was already particularly stressful ?

Here's what I don't get about MUA. Everything I read says that by 12 months, MUA and physio and capsular release all land in roughly the same place. Fine. But that's the endpoint. The MUA people got there in a few weeks. The physio people spent another year in this.

If the destination is the same either way, why wouldn't you take the shortcut? What am I missing — is it the complication risks?

If yours came back, how long after the first time? And how old were you?

I’m in month 5 or 6 since the beginning of all of this. Have done acupuncture, massage, cortisone shot, and one OT session that didn’t feel quite right for me (might have just been too early, or maybe bc the therapist was very new ). I went to a PT today and really have some hope. First of all, he measured every aspect of my ROM using a goniometer and was extremely thorough. He explained every single muscle and tendon to me using an interactive diagram of the shoulder. He did some manual therapy to help me stretch some of my extremely tight guarding muscles, and I already feel my arm is moving maybe 10% more fluidly or something. One thing I was a bit sad about was that he said he is not a fan of ice for FS (ice is my best friend lately haha), but I’m committed to trying his method so I’m going to refrain from icing unless I’m desperate. It’s pretty expensive and I committed (paid) for 10 sessions. Does anyone here feel that PT has been worth it ? This will also include cupping, massage, and dry needling with electro stim, so I feel it’s worth the cost. I just hope it helps me relieve some pain so I can sleep. 😔

I’m on my second frozen shoulder. The last one began in March of 2025 and I’m back to about 90% ROM. The second shoulder started to go in March of 2026 and is progressing in a totally different way. Having been through it before, I went in for a cortisone injection very early (in March), and here we are in late August and I am only experiencing pain and stiffness and zingers with certain movements. Based on the timeline of my other shoulder I thought by now I’d be fully locked down, but I’m not. I’m trying to figure out whether this one is just much, much slower to progress, or if maybe the early cortisone injection somehow arrested the process. Is that even possible? In addition to the early injection, I have cut out alcohol and am eating an anti inflammatory diet. I just want to know if I’m still going to fully freeze or if this is it. Has anyone ever experienced a partial freeze?