Question 1

Electroacupuncture vs. regular acupuncture for frozen shoulder: did research find a difference?

Accepted Answer

An analysis pooling 13 randomized trials with 936 people found that electroacupuncture gave better results for pain. However, the size of the difference was not large, and the methods varied from study to study.

Question 2

Exercise therapy for frozen shoulder: what changes at each stage?

Accepted Answer

It helps. But it's not the same exercise at any time — what you do changes completely depending on which stage you are in now.

Question 3

If I can't raise my arm at a young age, what should be suspected?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us it started as just a little stiffness in the shoulder, but at some point their arm wouldn't go above shoulder height. Many come in only after reaching the stage where they have to bend their head down to wash their hair because the arm won't go up, and it hurts to put on or take off clothes.

Question 4

If fear of pain has made me stop using my shoulder, how do we start?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us that the pain is bad enough, but they've stopped using the shoulder altogether out of fear that it will hurt. Even in the exam room, when we ask them to raise their arm, they hesitate first.

Question 5

When night pain in the shoulder keeps me from sleeping, what do you treat first?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us it's more or less bearable during the day, but at night it throbs so much that even rolling over is hard. Among people coming to us for the first time with a shoulder problem, this night pain is the most common reason.

Question 6

If I've been diagnosed with a rotator cuff injury, in what order do we approach it?

Accepted Answer

If the tendon is completely torn, or you suddenly couldn't lift your arm after an injury, surgery may be needed. An orthopedic exam and imaging come first.

Question 7

Why does a shoulder injured during exercise keep coming back?

Accepted Answer

Because once it stops hurting, people put weight back on a tendon that is still healing. Pain stopping and the tendon healing happen at different times.

Question 8

When shoulder and knee pain have made me give up exercise, what do you look at?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us their shoulder hurts so lifting heavy things feels like a burden, and their knees hurt too, so one by one they've given up the exercise they used to enjoy.

Question 9

Afternoon shoulder stiffness in office workers: where do you look for the cause?

Accepted Answer

Patients tell us that while sitting at work, the back of the neck turns stiff as a rock, and by afternoon the whole upper body feels heavy and droopy. Many also say the exercise they started for their health made their knees ache, so now exercise itself feels scary.

Question 10

What is the difference between pain on the inside and outside of the elbow?

Accepted Answer

The painful spot is different. Pain on the outside of the elbow is called tennis elbow; pain on the inside is called golfer's elbow. They happen just the same in people who don't play sports.

Frozen Shoulder · Shoulder Pain

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Frozen shoulder

Shoulder tendons · Night pain

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