frozen shoulder

Hi everyone it's been three months since I got my pm, I am still feeling discomfort around the pm area. I also developed frozen shoulder and having a lot of pain when i try to move my arm. Has anyone suffered with this problem? How long will it take to go away? what should I be doing to releive the pain? can anyone help.

8 Comments

Frozen Shoulder

by 220 chandler ave - 2009-04-08 07:04:15

Good Morning:

I too suffered with shoulder pain for quite sometime. I had a PM implanted will be two years this May. I mentioned this to my EP when I went for my PM follow-ups but he told me it was NOT from the PM. How wrong he was. I went to Physical Therapy for sometime and over time it did get better. I still to this day, sometimes have an aching and soreness in my shoulder but nothing I cannot handle. Hang in there, it takes time, but maybe having Physical Therapy could help.

Sharon B

pt

by Tracey_E - 2009-04-08 07:04:29

Ask your doctor to refer you to physical therapy. They can loosen it up with massage and ultrasound, and teach you exercises.

Shoulder Pain

by djmann - 2009-04-08 07:04:48

Hi,
I have had my pm for 6 years and still have a few problems with my left shoulder and the connection of muscles from pectorals to the neck/shoulder muscles; and have found when it gets tight or feels achey, that massage or even massage by a deep muscle massage therapist can unlock those muscles that she said react to the presence of the implant in the pectoral muscle that attaches to the whole network of muscle groups that support neck/shoulder, etc. Sometimes the left side of my neck gets pretty tight, especially after doing some activity like vacumning or light raking around my flowerbeds, but again, massage, moist heat, and the only therapy I was given by the massage therapist was gentle stretching exercises of neck and shoulder areas.
Hope this helps. We have enough to live with, than the aggravation of daily pain. Good luck.

Me too

by sputnick - 2009-04-08 09:04:22

I have had my pm for 10 weeks now and it is still really tende rat the top near my underarm. I am really slim and the cardiologist struggled a bit to get it in! I have been doing more with my left arm now the risk of lead displacement is low eg; swimming last week, and although in the short term that made the site more tender, it is settling down again now. I also had a lot of needle sharp pains after which have gone now.
I suppose we are all made differently and all heal at our own rate.
Jan

Shoulder pain

by NWGirl - 2009-04-08 12:04:56

Hi Cerilia - I am only 3 weeks post-op, but I developed severe left shoulder pain about 5 days after my pm was put in. My surgeon told me that was unusual and thought it was just arthritis!?! but sent me for an ultrasound to make sure it was not a bloodclot. That test actually made the pain so much worse, but it has (mostly) subsided now.

I think all that pressure on muscles and ligaments, plus the swelling, can impinge on nerves and cause us pain, even if the sugery itself is successful. And then we hold our body in different positions, protecting that side where the pm is. Not to mention sleeping in different positions at night.

Hopefully time and some physical therapy will help you. I am trying to do some small movements to not let that shoulder stiffen up. Good luck with your recovery. Let us know how you are. I am mentally doing so much better, being able to talk about my problems on this board.

frozen sholdour

by Rachael - 2009-04-09 05:04:15

When I had my last pacemaker changed, my surgeon told me not to use my arm for a week or so and to keep it in a sling, so this i did. And I developed a frozen sholdour also. It was extremely painful!! They organised physio for me but but by the time my first appt came round it had loosened but it did take a couple of months.
I would sugest just trying to move it slightly regularly each time doing a little extra as it needs to be loosened up.

frozen shoulder

by cerilia - 2009-04-12 05:04:59

thank you all so much for you response and good advise. I will try everything and anything to make this pain go away. It sure helps to know that I am not the only one that has this problem.
I have started physio and they said that under normal conditions they would use ultrasound in the area of the shoulder, but because I had a pacemaker they couldn't because it would cause problem for the pacemaker. Is that so? Can I have an ultersound done or not? I usually have a annual ultrasound and mammogram done, does this mean that I can nolonger have my ultrasound on my breast?
thanks again for all you help

frozen shoulder

by PC - 2009-04-13 10:04:03

Hi Cerilia,
I find this all very intriguing that so many people develop some kind or other a type of frozen shoulder. It all appears thou that the frozen shoulder has delveloped on the same side as the PM which may be due to the lack of movement in the arm well the PM site heals.
I have had a different experience in that my PM was implated in the left side but 2 days after the implant I develeoped severe pain in the right shoulder area and arm. I am now almost 7 months post op and still have very little use of my right arm. Many test later the doctors say I have nerve damage and also frozen shoulder??? They think possibly from when I fainted and hit the ground I may have injured myself why then was it all ok before the operation and 2 days after the operation. The other theory is it is a auto imnune response from the PM being installed???
Has far as having a ultrasound there should be no problem with that they gave me one when testing my shoulder, and the one thing you can't get is a MRI.

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