Cold-shouldered
My ex-colleague at Accenture came up with the best quip: is my husband tired of being given the cold shoulder?
It was soon after Christmas 2015 when I noticed that the intermittent pain in my right arm was getting more frequent. I am right-handed. Went to the GP in January 2016 and for the best part of this year I had been suffering a lot of pain, loss of muscle strength and spent many hours in hospital and clinic waiting rooms.
Not nice.
I had to give up that bit of my voluntary work which required a lot of note-taking. My right hand was so weak that I could barely sign my name, let alone write. Even working at a computer took a great deal of effort and I had to stop after every hour or so to recuperate.
(I took on a new voluntary role to teach 'laptop' to senior citizens. Instead of note-taking, all I had to do was point and talk, and occasionally pressed a button or two. It gels with my desire to help older people cope with loneliness by connecting them via the internet especially when the weather is inclement.)
I recently found this post (below) and thought it describes very well the pain, anxiety and embarrassment that I had gone through.
Embarrassment, yes. For a long while I had no strength in my hand to cut up food. Husband had to cut up food for me, at home, at restaurants, etc, so that I could pick the pieces up with my left hand. I could not raise my right hand to my mouth without pain. Instead I bent down to it! Looked like an idiot, I did.
I had to stop driving. But I got anxious about getting on public transport. I was embarrassed to sit on priority seats because outwardly there was nothing 'priority' about me (unless you can count my grey hair). I was anxious about not being able to reach the bell and propel myself to the front of the bus using just my left arm. The right was held in a permanently bent position (fist to shoulder) to prevent jerking it by accident. Any sudden movement on the right arm would have caused me a lot of pain.
I was fearful of getting up escalators because I could not raise my hand far enough to hold onto the belt. I 'crossed over', using my left hand instead. Awkward!
Thankfully I am recovering. I am no more in constant, constant pain. The stiffness is still there, but I can do a lot more after going to a new physiotherapist. I can now cook, without having to wait for husband to get stuff out of the oven for me.
Praise God!
If you are in HR, or have friends and colleagues (usually menopausal women) who are suffering a frozen shoulder, this blog would put things in perspective. Be kind! Be very kind. :)
I quote the first paragraph from her blog here which says much of what I went through:
HOW DOES FROZEN SHOULDER AFFECT YOU?
It was soon after Christmas 2015 when I noticed that the intermittent pain in my right arm was getting more frequent. I am right-handed. Went to the GP in January 2016 and for the best part of this year I had been suffering a lot of pain, loss of muscle strength and spent many hours in hospital and clinic waiting rooms.
Not nice.
I had to give up that bit of my voluntary work which required a lot of note-taking. My right hand was so weak that I could barely sign my name, let alone write. Even working at a computer took a great deal of effort and I had to stop after every hour or so to recuperate.
(I took on a new voluntary role to teach 'laptop' to senior citizens. Instead of note-taking, all I had to do was point and talk, and occasionally pressed a button or two. It gels with my desire to help older people cope with loneliness by connecting them via the internet especially when the weather is inclement.)
I recently found this post (below) and thought it describes very well the pain, anxiety and embarrassment that I had gone through.
Embarrassment, yes. For a long while I had no strength in my hand to cut up food. Husband had to cut up food for me, at home, at restaurants, etc, so that I could pick the pieces up with my left hand. I could not raise my right hand to my mouth without pain. Instead I bent down to it! Looked like an idiot, I did.
I had to stop driving. But I got anxious about getting on public transport. I was embarrassed to sit on priority seats because outwardly there was nothing 'priority' about me (unless you can count my grey hair). I was anxious about not being able to reach the bell and propel myself to the front of the bus using just my left arm. The right was held in a permanently bent position (fist to shoulder) to prevent jerking it by accident. Any sudden movement on the right arm would have caused me a lot of pain.
I was fearful of getting up escalators because I could not raise my hand far enough to hold onto the belt. I 'crossed over', using my left hand instead. Awkward!
Thankfully I am recovering. I am no more in constant, constant pain. The stiffness is still there, but I can do a lot more after going to a new physiotherapist. I can now cook, without having to wait for husband to get stuff out of the oven for me.
Praise God!
If you are in HR, or have friends and colleagues (usually menopausal women) who are suffering a frozen shoulder, this blog would put things in perspective. Be kind! Be very kind. :)
My frozen shoulder experience
I quote the first paragraph from her blog here which says much of what I went through:
HOW DOES FROZEN SHOULDER AFFECT YOU?
Your life is 100 times harder, you struggle to dress yourself, can’t wash your face or hair or brush your teeth (with the arm involved), can’t get your hand to your face, can’t put a shirt over your head, you struggle to tuck yourself in if wearing jeans or skirts (I stopped trying), you can’t lift things, can’t move your arm more than a few inches in any direction, you can’t put your bra on, can’t even shrug your shoulders (the most basic thing of all!). You can’t go through any kind of drive through (for food or the bank) – or if you do you have to park away from it, get out of the car and walk to the ATM – you can’t feed yourself properly, you can’t sleep, using a hairdryer in one hand and a brush in the other is out of the question – it’s hard to even wash your hair unless you do it one-handed. You start walking funny because you ache all over, your neck aches, your shoulders ache because your body is “out of whack” and distended – it starts affecting every aspect of your life, both waking and sleeping – it is just a horrible, horrible predicament. It is still somewhat of an enigma, nobody REALLY knows what it is, what causes it or how to cure it, there are lots of opinions, and myriad medical doctors who will offer expensive surgery. There are multiple options out there for other types of treatment, most of them (I believe) are detrimental to the healing process. Sure, some of them may help, but some of them may hinder, but the most important thing is that you are not bullied into having surgery or doing anything that doesn’t feel right for you.
Comments
One is having therapy with a Hivamat machine. It cures a LOT of things.
The other is buying a desk which rises, and a very expensive chair which keeps you moving all the time.
They do know what it is, just not what sparks it off in some people, although injury can. I think the problem stems from not moving as much as you should and staying in stiff position for too long in the day - working at your computer.
Since I have had my rising desk (which means I can work standing sometimes) and the chair which rocks back and forwards with me and keeps me moving all the time, I have had no trouble.