The morning I woke up with what I now know to be a frozen shoulder, the pain was so excruciating I felt like chopping my arm off.
The slightest wrong move would send a sharp, searing sensation shooting down the length of my arm and up into my neck and head, making me gasp in agony.
Almost overnight, I couldn’t raise my arm and lost strength in my left hand. I struggled to wash or tie up my hair, fastening a bra behind my back was impossible, driving brought me to tears, and the pain kept me awake all night long.
While I felt the symptoms were unusual, research has shown frozen shoulders, or to give it its medical term, Adhesive Capsulitis, can be common in women who are in their perimenopause.
What causes frozen shoulder?
A study by Duke University School of Medicine reveals that a lack of estrogen can cause issues in bone growth, inflammation, and connective tissues, which may be the reason behind the link between perimenopause and frozen shoulder.
Frozen shoulder sees the lining of your shoulder socket become inflamed and thicken, causing it to act like a wall, stopping the joint from being able to move freely.
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It can happen spontaneously, and while the exact cause isn’t known, diabetes and thyroid issues are thought to be one cause, and it can often be hereditary. I suddenly had a memory of my mum having keyhole surgery on her shoulder 20 years ago and realised she must have suffered the same condition.
Treating my frozen shoulder
I went to the doctor with my frozen shoulder symptoms, and without even checking my range of movement, they immediately prescribed a steroid injection. Wary of having drugs stabbed into my joint before I knew for sure that was the issue, I requested an MRI scan to see the extent of damage I was working with. I was prescribed strong painkillers but they did nothing to stop the pain.
Post-MRI, my scan showed that the socket of my shoulder had indeed thickened and was causing a lot of pain. Thankfully, I was referred to physio Carlos Cobeilla of The Shoulder Practice, whose patients include the Arsenal Football team, Oscar-winning actors, F1 drivers and PGA players. After examining my scans, he explained my treatment options. “Frozen shoulder is a strange condition that seems to correct itself within two years,” he told me. “You can have surgery, but it might be better to manage the pain until it starts to ease.”
© Getty ImagesI booked in for a steroid injection with ultrasound to make sure the correct place was being targeted. Within days, the pain had disappeared, and I was starting to get the feeling back in my fingers. But it took over a year for any kind of movement to return. “Physio alone won’t help when you have a frozen shoulder,” Carlos told me. “You have to give it time.”
Thankfully, a year on from my steroid injection I am still relatively pain free and my mobility, while not perfect, has started to dramatically improve; I could thrust my arm up in the air while dancing at a party at the weekend, which I definitely couldn’t have done this time last year!
© Shutterstock / Natali BrillianataHow to ease frozen shoulder
If you are in pain with a frozen shoulder, try these top treatment tips for pain relief.
1. Hot and Cold therapy
Using a combination of ice packs and hot water bottles on your shoulder can ease symptoms.
2. Surgery
You can have keyhole surgery to try and manipulate and release the tight tissue in the socket. This has varying degrees of success and is a last resort if the pain is unmanageable.
© Getty Images3. Steroid Injections
Ideally these should be paired with an ultrasound, so the injection can be targeted into the exact area of need. The procedure takes a few minutes and the pain relief can help.
4. HRT for frozen shoulder
Studies by Duke University School of Medicine in 2022 on 2000 women between the ages of 45 and 60 show that topping up your estrogen with HRT could lower your risk of frozen shoulder.
5. Physio
This only tends to work once the shoulder has started to be released from steroids or an operation. But it is needed to build the muscles back up and help regain the range of movement you once had.
6. Wait it out
Frozen shoulders tend to rectify themselves after two years – if you can manage the pain for that long.
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