My Tools
My Tools
These are the tools I used to heal my shoulders. I have no connection to any of these people or companies other than having purchased their products for my own personal use. There is no benefit to me if you buy them.
Keep in mind that the biggest factor in whether or not you develop frozen shoulder is whether or not you’ve had it before—that is, once you have had one frozen shoulder, you’re at much higher risk of having another one (in either shoulder.)
Dr John Kirsch’s Book: Shoulder Pain? The Solution & Prevention
Everywhere I looked, I kept reading that it would take 18 months to 2 years for my shoulder to heal. I didn’t like that prospect, so I kept looking until I found someone offering a faster timeline—Dr John Kirsch.
Swedish Ladder
You don’t need a Swedish ladder, but it makes things a lot easier and if, like me, you are committed to never having another frozen shoulder, it might be worth the investment. If you’re handy, you can build your own like this guy did. But really, any hanging bar will do. Your local playground is likely to have something that will work. If you want something for your home, Wirecutter has these recommendations. You will likely need a chair beneath you to hold much of your weight initially.
For what it’s worth, I ended up buying a Swedish ladder when I realized that it was equivalent to the cost of only five or six physiotherapy sessions and that it would probably save me from needing physiotherapy treatment in the future.
The NOHRD Swedish Ladder that I used
Powerdot Tens Machine
When I was in the freezing stage and dealing with zingers and aches, a friend suggested I try her Tens machine to help with the pain. It quickly became my new favourite thing and after a couple of weeks I realized that I did not want to give it back. It really took the edge off the achiness, particularly on those nights when the pain was bad enough that I would have otherwise had trouble going back to sleep. There may be better options out there but I like this one because:
- It connects wirelessly to my phone.
- It is a small, low-profile device—you can put it on and go about your day (or night, if you’re using it to help you go back to sleep.)
- The battery lasts quite a while between charges.
I was told:
- Not to stick the Tens machine pads on my chest and back at the same time (it’s not a good idea to be passing an electrical current through your body near your heart.)
- I could use the Tens machine as much as I wanted/needed and I wasn’t going to do myself any harm.
- Setting the intensity to a mild buzzing is thought to have a pain relief effect only. It is not likely to help with healing.
- Setting the intensity to a level where you can see your muscle twitching may have a positive impact on healing.
Recoverytherm Cube
You don’t need this if you have ice packs and heat packs at home. However, my second shoulder started freezing when I was travelling and ice packs and heat packs were not viable options. This cube alternates between cold and hot and is rechargeable. The battery life is not great—you only get 3 x 20-minute cycles of cold/hot on a full charge, but if you have access to power (e.g. on an airplane or in a car), that’s not such a big deal. I am convinced this cube helped me arrest the freezing process in my second shoulder.
Peloton Barre and Yoga Classes
I already had a Peloton membership, so this was not something I paid for just to fix my shoulder. I am sure there are plenty of free options that would work just as well. However, if you already have a Peloton membership, or if you have access to a free trial, I highly recommend Hannah Corbin’s Barre classes. She has quite a few that have weightless arms sections that are no joke. When I started doing these, I could barely move my left arm. My “arm circles” on that side were hilariously small. But I just kept doing them as best I could in conjunction with the hanging. I think the hanging fixed my shoulder mobility, but doing these classes helped me regain strength in my shoulder and arm as I recovered my mobility.