My word, this has really stirrred up a hornet's nest!  Sharron is probably well off out of it, and I am sure we all hope she has made a full recovery now. 

I do take issue with the tendency of the mainstream medical profession to make morbid predictions, I have read the leaflet by the Arthritis Reseach council which says that frozen shoulder takes 2 years to get better and there is no effective treatment - what is the lay person meant to do but dose up on painkillers and get an ulcer?  It is important to give people some positive message - not an unrealistic one, but at least some hope that something may help.  As Charlie Brown (Peanuts) once said, "This is my depressed posture.  If you're feeling down, it's no good standing up straight because you only start to feel better...."  (or words to that effect - sorry Schultz). 

As an osteopath I have had a high success rate in treating frozen shoulder - the only people that don't improve are the pain-phobics as I have said.  I usually find that it takes a week to get rid of it for every week you've had it, but you could double that for diabetics.  I've not noticed diabetics getting it bilaterally but they do tend to come back 2 or 3 years later with the other side seized up - fortunately they come straight away as they've learned from experience what happens if they wait.  A lot of therapists shy away from treating it in the initial, most painful phase.  I have found this is the best time to treat it but you MUST tell the patient that it will be very painful for a few minutes.  Take care if they have a heart condition!

I have also noticed that a lot of people get frozen shoulder a few months after they have had flu or other viral illnesses (OR THE FLU JAB!).  I discussed this with Simeon Neill-Asher once and he hadn't noticed it as a precursor but had noticed that flu causes a relapse.

Another peculiarity is that I won't see anyone with it for perhaps 10 to 18 months, then six or eight come along within a month (perhaps the flu again?

Anyway, wish you well again Sharron, and enjoying the lively debate -

Peter