Winter of early 2019 I had been experiencing chronic pain in my left shoulder. I was having more difficulty in the gym lifting weight and sleeping on my left side was becoming more painful. I kept pushing through with the gym and work. By March of 2019 my shoulder completely froze. I went to my family doctor and was sent for x rays and ultrasounds; it was confirmed it was frozen shoulder, no tears and was told to try physiotherapy, a chiropractor and acupuncture. Our family doctor also sent me to an orthopedic doctor, who told me the same things.
I think what bothered me the most was that they had no concrete answer as to when this would get better or what caused it. They said it is very common in middle aged women and those in menopause, possibly due to estrogen loss. My doctor told me if it wasn’t better in the next year to come back (yeah that’s right a year!).
So as per usual, I hit the internet and started my research. I booked myself for regular physio, massage, chiropractic, acupuncture and even osteopathy. Nothing was really helping it, so after sucking up all my medical coverage, I decided to stop everything. At this point, I started to treat the symptoms and stopped worrying about getting it to move at this point. The biggest symptom was chronic pain. I upped my turmeric and ginger for inflammation and tried a few other natural options like Arnica. This was still not enough to ease the pain, and by the end of summer it was exhausting me.
I have been through a lot with my health over the past 6 years, but living with this chronic pain was really starting to take its toll. I finally reached out to my Naturopathic Doctor again and asked if it would be ok to take some anti inflammatory drugs. You have to know that for me this was a huge concern as I haven’t so much as touched a Tylenol for over 6 years. Everything I put in my body was holistic and natural, but I couldn’t take the pain anymore. She agreed that we needed to get the inflammation down for it to start to heal and for me to be able to do the stretches and exercises. So I started on some low dose anti inflammatory drugs and within 3 days I started sleeping better without pain. I could work without pain, and I could go further with my stretches.
By the Fall of 2019 I was pain free but still frozen, I no longer needed the drugs but my range of motion had not returned. I kept doing the exercises, massaging and stretching it out everyday.
Fast forward to March 2020, one year after the complete freeze and I have almost 90% range of motion back. I was able to go back to my osteopath in June this year and he was amazed at how far I had come. I am seeing him every 2 weeks to keep stretching and adjusting the shoulder. He is confident I will be fully healed in a few more adjustments.
What I really want to stress is that there are going to be times where we may need to take medications in order for us to heal. I will continue to treat my body naturally, I am not failing if I need to use western medicine occasionally. The most important thing is to give your body the best fighting chance to heal, and that comes from being able to get good quality sleep and exercise, which you can not do when you are constantly in pain.
One of my favourite ways to loosen my shoulders and back up is by using therapy balls or yoga tune up balls. I learned how to use these from my sister Jenn Pike. I did a workshop with her and I couldn’t believe all the spots you could use them to work on knots or sore muscles. We have them in several sizes and my whole family loves them, especially my daughters who are both dancers.
What’s awesome is they are small enough to throw in a purse or travel tote, they are great to use on your back in the car on long drives and are a great way to keep you loose in between massage appointments. Go treat yourself and get a set, you will not regret it.
A big lesson I have learned this past year is my body doesn’t like to move how it used to. Gym life for me is a no go, I take too long to recover now and honestly I don’t really enjoy it. What I am really loving now is, stretching, yoga, walking and dance. I recover much quicker and it’s more gentle on my joints. During the pandemic I have been stepping out of my comfort zone and doing online dance classes. As studios have started to open in August, I’m looking forward to dancing in person and really challenging myself.
So here’s to listening to our bodies and doing what makes us feel good!
Cheers,
Wendy
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