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If you have frozen shoulder pain relief is a MUST!
One Woman’s Story of Frozen Shoulder and the Road to Natural Pain Relief and Recovery
What does a frozen shoulder look like? Well, it’s like trying to dry longer hair with one hand because it’s too painful to even lift a hairbrush in the other. And if you have long hair, you know that’s not ideal for styling and making yourself presentable.
The truth is, I don’t normally dry my hair with a hair dryer because of possible heat damage. And I wouldn’t have on this day either. But I had a meeting. I had returned home from traveling late the previous day. So, I needed a quick shower before hopping on my Zoom call.
As soon as I realized I couldn’t hold and lift a hairbrush, I knew I had a daily activity-limiting issue. And I knew I needed to deal with it immediately. After a few frozen shoulder self-tests at home (with the help of a friend), I realized I was testing positive for the beginning stages of a frozen shoulder.
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Finding Fast and Natural Frozen Shoulder Pain Relief
Finding a Frozen Shoulder Expert
What is Frozen Shoulder?
The Mayo Clinic describes a frozen shoulder as stiffness and pain caused by any movement of the shoulder. In the self-tests I did at home, I had severe limitations in moving my arm overhead, behind me, out to the side, and rotating my forearm out and away from my body.
Check, check, check, and check.
To be clear, I’m not a doctor. I’m absolutely self-diagnosing at this point.
But I’ve been reading more and more about how women are more likely to experience frozen shoulder. And how this is one of those common but lesser-discussed symptoms of perimenopause.
No one knows why (or if) hormones would cause this musculoskeletal issue, but there’s definitely an observed correlation.
What causes Frozen Shoulder?
My shoulder had been hurting after a heavy kettlebell workout the previous week. The thing is, I often have pain in my left shoulder. It’s happened on and off over the past five years. I have no idea what I did to injure myself initially.
However, when I experience shoulder pain, I can usually find relief by foam rolling my lats and doing some stability exercises for my upper back.
I’ve been a big proponent of strength training since I’ve hit my 40s. I’m trying to keep as much lean muscle mass as possible, so I’ll be able to take care of myself by myself as I age. And yet, I’ve realized that sometimes I don’t balance my strength training with muscle stability as much as I should. That on top of hunching over a desk for most of my day, playing the piano, and spending time on my phone, leads to rounded shoulders and tight lats. Which, of course, all affect my shoulder mobility.
I’ve mentioned a correlation between hormones in women and frozen shoulder. But there’s an even bigger correlation with diabetes and insulin resistance. Having battled PCOS (related to insulin resistance) in my 20s, I steer clear of refined sugars and highly processed foods.
I also keep an eye on my blood tests to be sure I’m not starting to experience insulin resistance. As a result, about two months ago, I came to Nutrition World and had all my metabolic bloodwork done. Thankfully, everything was in optimal range.
The truth is, no one knows what causes a frozen shoulder. And yet, I’m checking all the boxes that are correlated. Female. 40s, where hormones might start going wacky. Previous shoulder pain. Lifestyle. History with insulin resistance.
How to Treat Frozen Shoulder
In my realization that I had a lifestyle-limiting issue I needed to address right away, I looked to what the medical community said to do.
Cortisol shots
Possible surgery
Physical therapy
I’m not one to rush to the doctor. As I said, I self-diagnosed. And I don’t love any of the options listed above, other than maybe physical therapy.
I’ve been focusing on feeding my microbiome lately, and there are too many studies showing how NSAIDs cause microbiome imbalances.
So, I’d like to use the “tried-and-true” options given by the medical community as a last resort.
Finding Fast and Natural Frozen Shoulder Pain Relief
Thankfully, I happened to pick up some acute pain relief capsules with curcumin and Boswellia the week before.
From what I could tell, the medical community advocated relieving the pain and reducing the inflammation before starting any physical therapy treatment. That’s why they would use NSAIDs and cortisol injections.
This protocol felt right to me, first, because I was in such pain. But also, because I tried a couple of my normal stretches, rolling and stability exercises, and either couldn’t get my arm to move appropriately or experienced severe pain.
I had never used the pain relief capsules with curcumin before, so I gave them a try. WOW! They worked so fast! The sharp pain turned dull, and I was able to roll my shoulders without discomfort for the first time in days.
They also helped me reduce the pain so I could sleep at night––a key to letting the body heal itself.
Try Curcumin Pain Relief Products
Frozen Shoulder Exercises
Once I decreased the pain a bit, I did start some gentle exercises. I still couldn’t get into my normal foam rolling and stability exercises yet. But I was able to roll my shoulders to remove some stiffness. And I tried some gentle bent-over pendulum swings and arm circles.
My main goal here was not to let it get worse and not to make it worse without some expert help.
The good news is, as long as I didn’t lift anything in that hand overhead, the pain level stayed low so that I could continue my gentle movements and stretches. (And when I say anything, I mean anything! No hairbrush, no toothbrush, no phone, no coffee cup!)
Loosening Things
The gentle stretching was great and kept my arm from getting too stiff before I could get help. And yet, one of the biggest things I did to increase movement in my shoulder was with a lacrosse ball.
Like I mentioned, my previous shoulder pain was fixed by rolling out my lats. Part of the problem with a frozen shoulder is the inability to get your arm overhead. And thus, no foam rolling the lats!
So, I took a lacrosse ball and rolled on it instead. With foam rolling, you have to lift your arm overhead to get to your side. But the lacrosse ball only requires the arm to be a little away from the body to do the work of loosening the lats.
Time for a Frozen Shoulder Expert
Despite all my research, self-diagnosing and amateur doctoring, it was obvious that I needed some expert help. First, I wanted to be sure I wasn’t doing anything to worsen this frozen shoulder situation. I had no desire to end up having surgery because of my self-treatment.
So, I visited the Nutrition World website and looked at their wellness corner partners. It turns out, Sherlyn Cutshall specializes in frozen shoulder pain! How cool is that?!??
I made an appointment with her for the following week. After 45 minutes with Sherlyn, I was a new woman! She worked on my entire body down to my glutes. (She started working on my shoulder and my glutes started twitching!) It turns out that one specific trigger point release of the pec minor caused major relief as well.
I have a follow-up appointment with Sherlyn in a week. And I’m guessing I’ll be worlds better after that.
In the end, I’ll get X-rays or MRIs if I must. But my first stop is finding the most natural way to care for my body so I can thrive as I age.
The good news is that whether it’s traditional medical treatment or more natural remedies, Nutrition World partners with the entire health and wellness community to give us Chattanoogans the resources we need to get well and stay well.
Oh, and I’ll be using the curcumin and Boswellia pain reliever from here on out. Whether it’s cramps or a frozen shoulder, the science is right. It just works! What a great find!
One note, the pain reliever with Boswellia also had black sesame seed, and it definitely made me a bit drowsy. But there are other formulas that don’t cause drowsiness.
