It's been over a month since I mentioned my shoulder. I am very happy to report that the thawing continues at a better than average rate. My range of motion is noticeably improved since April 3. I am starting to see an increase in strength. Today I cleaned the shower and I was able to work harder and longer with my right arm. I am still following the anti-inflammatory protocol - but only once a day rather than two or three times.

The main thing I'm doing is exercises specifically for frozen shoulder.

After my April blog Sante_J recommended a book called "Anybody's Sports Medicine Book" by James Garrick. I ordered a used copy from Amazon.com. It is so encouraging about full recovery from frozen shoulder, rotator cuff, and other shoulder injuries. It recommends 4 exercises, which I now do daily. I only wish I had known about this book when my son was running track.

I did a lot of reading on the internet, and found a website called frozenshoulder.com. It has a free bimonthly newsletter. The first issue just promoted their products, and I intended to unsubscribe. Then the 2nd issue came and it was so helpful. Each issue talks about ways to deal with pain, and ways to speed healing. The exercises are similar to those in the Sports Medicine book, but the newsletter included an exercise that repositions the shoulders which I now do every night.

I asked a question of each person who wrote saying they had had frozen shoulder: Do you have a lot of muscle in your upper body? Everyone said no. They are like me with little upper body strength. The sample is way to small to draw a scientific conclusion, but I suspect that strong muscles around the shoulder may protect that joint from injury. At some point this summer I hope to be able to move from flexibility exercises to strengthening exercises. I want to do everything I can to prevent ever having frozen shoulder again.