Simplified Solutions for your Hurting shoulder (Frozen Shoulder)

Are you getting your shoulder pain worst day by day? Is your shoulder getting stiff? These are the symptoms suggestive of the frozen shoulder. Just like an ice in refrigerator, your shoulder is getting frozen causing pain, stiffness and ultimately difficulty in daily living activities. This is a condition in which the surrounding structure of shoulder joint (i.e., Capsule of joint) gets swollen and tightened, causing pain and stiffness in shoulder.

More incidences are seen in women than men. You are more likely to get this condition if your age is between 40 to 60 years. Your risk might also go up if you’re in the process of recovering from a medical condition like a stroke, or surgery like a mastectomy that keeps you away from moving your arm. A diabetic patient is more prone to get this condition. Though only 10% to 20% diabetic patients might have frozen shoulder.

Decide in which stage you are!

Stage1: Freezing stage

Pain in shoulder, sometimes gets severe

Sleepless nights due to pain

May last for 6 to 8 months

Difficulty in moving shoulder

Stage2: Frozen stage

You might have less pain but more stiffness

May last for 8 to 12 months

More difficult routine activities e.g., combing hair, wearing shirt etc.

(Difficult or impossible overhead activities)

Stage3: Thawing stage

Symptoms might get relieved

May take around 10 months to 2 years

The extreme condition requires doctor's advise.

A Manipulation is the better option if you have worsen your condition

contact our experts to know about Manipulation technique

Solutions as per stage of the condition

Ø Solutions for stage1:

Most important part is to relieve pain in this stage. Following will help you to get relief from pain;

A hot water fomentation

Mild stretching exercises

Simple shoulder joint movements   

Ø Solutions for stage2:

Stiffness is the most affective part in this stage

More you activate your shoulder, better the recovery

Try to do more exercise of shoulder in this stage

Shoulder up-down, sideways movement, rotations are helpful to make it little free

Pulley exercises are the best to get your shoulder stiffness decreased

The other way to relax your shoulder muscle is pendulum swing

Continue the hot water fomentation along with all these exercises

Solutions for stage3:

Eventually you might be feeling better but to prevent its recurrence, physical exercises are required

Stick exercises are the best suggested for this stage

The extreme condition requires doctor's advise.

A Manipulation is the better option if you have worsen your condition

contact our experts to know about Manipulation technique

How will you Delay Knee Surgery?

Knee replacement has become the choice of treatment for old aged people with knee problems during last few decades. Sometimes it is likely to happen that patient would choose knee replacement surgery though it’s not required. In that case, thorough counseling and education of patient regarding the surgery becomes necessary. It is not surprising that so many knee replacement institutes are lacking patient education program.

Here this blog will help you for decision making process of knee replacement surgery. Our operative surgeons, Dr. Rajiv Paradkar and Dr. Vrajesh Shah, have great experience of 15-20 years in joint replacement surgeries. Some firm statements regarding knee replacement operation decisions from the desk of VIROC doctors are as follows;

1.     Know the main cause of knee pain. Generally osteoarthritis of knee is the reason of knee pain in old age, but patient should be aware of disease’s stage. More often last stage of knee osteoarthritis requires knee replacement. If the underlying cause of knee pain is different then you need other interventions.

2.     Once cause is found then go for conservative treatment first. We start with some glucosamine medicines (for cartilage and joint lubrication) with low dosage of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to treat pain.

3.     Good amount of physiotherapy is the best part of conservative treatment. Proper exercises could diminish your knee pain by decreasing the swelling over knee. Along with the exercises, electrotherapy and hot water fomentation would give you the best outcome.

4.     Most important advice is the weight reduction. If patient is obese then losing weight would give him\her drastic relief.

5.     If above all treatment fails then we would suggest you to go for some alternative interventions i.e., Stem cell therapy, PRP injections and Ozone (O₃) therapy. These are some types of treatment which are available at VIROC hospital.

6.     Many patients would be suggested for local steroidal injections and arthroscopic surgery. But we hardly recommend such alternatives which require more finances

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7.     At last, after all possible treatments only consider your pain factor. If your pain is worsening day by day and it affects your daily routine, also the X-rays suggestive of last stage osteoarthritis then go for the replacement surgery, regardless of the age factor (recommended age range is 60 and above).

India will emerge as the capital of Osteoarthritis by 2025 with more than 60 million to be likely affected. Thorough awareness and preventive steps towards fight against Osteoarthritic knee pain has now become mandatory.