Frozen Shoulder Syndrome - Natural Remedy

Frozen Shoulder is the lay mans term for what is medically termed  "Adhesive Capulitis."  Most Dr's will say that they do not know what causes it, and that there is no known "cure".

My experience with this "disorder" started when I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain, unable to move my shoulder, arm, or even the slightest movements in my hand.   I had not had an "injury" so to speak with my arm, and had even been playing volleyball every week for the last several months.  So a week later when I finally went to the Dr. and received this diagnosis, I was not comforted to hear that a typical Frozen Shoulder lasts usually a minimum of 2 months and as long as 5 years.  I have known people personally that have had surgery for correcting this problem as well.  Whether or not that is a reliable fix, I am skeptical.

As I mentioned before, they don't know what causes it.   Honestly I think it is somewhat of a "copout" diagnoses that is given when everything else is ruled out.   No torn rotator cuff, no broken bones, etc.
I am not one who generally goes to a Dr. for advice, unless there is something beyond my ability to handle, and in this case it was the pain.  Once I got that under control, I was able to focus on fixing the arm myself.    When I DO go to a Dr., I use a Naturopathic Physician.

Through a weekly regimen of massage, stretching, and using Essential Oils, I was able to see a huge improvement within 2 weeks from starting the treatments.  Now 5 weeks later, I would say I am at about 98% of normal function in the arm.   There are still signs of weakness from literally not using it for several weeks, but the ability and range of motion are totally back.

Just a note, not all massage therapists are equal.   It is necessary to have a MT that is well trained, and knows how to perform deep tissue massage WITHOUT bruising your entire body.   Bruising, though sometimes a side effect, is not the best way to accomplish healing.   You will definitely feel it later, but it should not overshadow the original problem you went in for.    And a good MT will tell you to drink lots of water to flush toxins out of your body, as well as ice the areas that deep tissue massage was performed.  It is also important to listen to your body, and let your MT know if something is hurting more than is good, and if you think you need to stop.

Although my knowledge is really quite small about exactly how Essential Oils work and the science behind using them, I did look up some instructions on how to create blends for yourself, and I created a recipe that worked for me in helping with the inflammation and healing of my Frozen Shoulder.

It is important to ad the oils in the order they are listed:

Added in the following order:
1 oz. Fractionated Coconut oil (or fill a 10ml bottle 3/4 full with Fractionated Coconut oil)

Winter green - 3 drops
Peppermint - 2 drops

Basil -15 drops
Birch  -10 drops
Frankincense -8 drops
Lemongrass - 15 drops

White Fir - 12 drops

Lavender - 4 drops
Lemon - 4 drops

Now just to cover my @$&  I need to say that these statements have not be evaluated by the FDA and that this information is not intended to be used as medical advice as the author is not a physician.  This recipe has not been proven to treat, diagnose or cure any of the above mentioned ailments.  Blah blah blah, yadda yadda... :-)

Preparing for an Earthquake w/ the Earthquake Lady!

 According to a KSL news cast on April 17, 2012:


"The infamous Wasatch Fault Line is 240 miles long, extending from Malad City, Idaho south to Fayette, Utah.  The Brigham City, Weber, Salt Lake, Provo and Nephi segments of that fault run through the most populated areas of our state.

At least 23 magnitude seven quakes have hit these segments over the past 6500 years - an average of a big shakeup every 300 years.

"I don't want to say we're overdue, but based on this paleo-seismic evidence and the geologic evidence from trenching the fault, it would not be unexpected for one to happen soon," Koper said.
Tomorrow, five, fifty, a hundred years from now? The experts don't know but say it will happen."

These so called "rumors" of Utah being long overdue for a quake are really more than rumors.  There is much scientific evidence pointing to the likely hood that "the big one" is coming.

This past Thursday, I attended a local presentation about earthquake preparedness.   The presenter was Maralin Hoff, otherwise known as the "Earthquake Lady."  Below are my notes from the meeting as well as photos of her display.   I am also including links to all of the handouts that were given, as they are available on the Utah state website.

Click on Photo to see details

The first thing she discussed was our immediate responses to an earthquake when we feel one starting.  Most of us know to "Take Cover" but it is also important to stay put.   An earthquake can cause an upset stomach, dizziness, nausea, etc.   So you shouldn't try to move about during one, other than to get to a safe area.

Click on Photo to see details

Safe areas include the inside solid walls if you are in a church or commercial type building.  The center wall in home nearest the hall is usually the safest area.  Stay away from window walls or outside walls.

Train your brain to know and get to these safe areas.  Door frames are generally recognized as safe as well as Bathrooms (commercial bldgs.), closets, or hallway.

It is a good idea to go through each room at home with your family and at work with your employees and/or co-workers and talk about which areas are safe.

We have lots of options for protecting ourselves.  But the most important thing is to drop, cover, and hold,  protecting our heads is #1.  If you are under a parking garage go to the nearest pillar.  Pillars are the safe part of the structure.   Maralin jokes that we should hug it and pray-- alot.

Be aware of glass-display cases, etc. in public places.  Picture windows in stores and malls, anywhere that glass can explode from you want to be away.   If you can't get away, at least turn your back to the glass so if it shatters your face and organs are protected.

If you are in a basement go to center of it.  Furthest away from outside windows.  Stairs are weak and could collapse.  As part of preparing your home for an earthquake, you should secure stairs with "L" brackets from the hardware store.   Check basement windows to make sure they will open in an emergency.  They used to tell us to get under the beds but now they say don't get under the beds-that's a no-no now.   Because if you are under the bed and something falls next to it, you could be pinned from getting out.  Stay away from fireplaces and chandeliers.  Securing water heaters with heavy metal straps should be #1 on our homework list in order to prevent gas leaks and fires during earthquakes.    Bookcases should also be secured to walls with brackets.

If you are outside stay outside find an open area out from under power lines, away from trees and buildings.  If you're at the store squat down and put your head under the basket. Or turn the basket sideways and crawl in.  If you have a baby or young child put them in first and then stick your head in.
Stores like Bed Bath Beyond, Costco etc are stocked to Ceiling.  Wouldn't want to be in that store when the earth starts moving.   

If you are driving you may not know you're in an earthquake right away. Things will happen in slow motion.  You should pull off to the side of road and stay in your car.  Check for wires up above and make sure you are not underneath a possible falling power line.

Freeways will become parking lots.  Authorities have asked that you  do not abandon your vehicle on a main Road, especially on the freeway.   Be patient  UDOT will get the cars moving.  You may have to wait for hours but eventually they will want you to be there to move your car.

Click on Photo to see details

It's always important to have an emergency kit in your car.  Some of the most important items include flashlight(s)-crank style or battery operated.  An umbrella, shovel (snow shovel in utah).  Blankets-emergency, wool, flannel, mylar.  And most importantly, water.  You should always keep comfortable walking shoes in the vehicle as well.  Whistles are an imperative item.   If you are always carrying one, you can more easily alert rescue crews to your location.   Ladies- keep a whistle in your purse.  Men in your briefcase or wallet.  Keep whistles everywhere.   They can even be tied to zipper pulls on school backpacks.  You can wrap things in mylar to stabilize temperatures such as the water in your cars.   

Click on Photo to see details

When creating emergency kits, its a good idea to get together with friends and neighbors and try to order things in groups.   Don't order pricey pre-made kits when you can get items affordably--dollar stores have lots of great items.   If you need medications - take them with you everywhere.  

Include the basics in your kit and then add your personal items.  Ie:  Sanitary items for women and girls, etc.  Cell phones don't usually work during an emergency.  However  texting may work.

Do not store emergency kits in the basement.  They should be on the main level or in the garage easy to grab and go.   Kids can have kits in bedrooms under beds w/ handle sticking out .

Keep track of kit expirations on a Calendar  ie: batteries, food, etc,  so that you remember to regularly update consumable items.

Kids Kits should grow with them.  Be sure to update toys and reading items to reflect their current interests.  

I'm sure there are many more tips and ideas included on the website in the following handouts:


Your Guide to Personal and Family Preparedness
Emergency Plan
72 Hour Kit Checklist
Car Survival Kit
Childrens Activity Book
Disaster Preparedness for Seniors
FEMA Guide for Citizens Preparedness

Emergency Porta-Potty Kit
Animal 72 hour kit
Animal First Aid Kit

For more information, links and flyers please visit:
http://beready.utah.gov

What do I do without electricity?

   About 9:30 on Sunday morning the lights flickered, dimmed, and went out completely.   The AC came to a screeching halt, and the entire house went silent as all of the noise from running fans stopped abruptly.  "You've got to be kidding me," I thought.   Exactly one week to the day since the boil order was lifted on our water supply.  Seems we have been blessed with all sorts of opportunities recently to test our preparedness skills. We began to think about how this would affect us.  I claimed the first shower, just in case the hot water went cold before the the tanks could heat again, and then I remembered we have gas water heaters.  :-) We wondered if church would be cancelled if there was no power in the building, and hubby started dragging out the solar panels we haven't had a chance to set up yet.  {Notice the shade tree directly over them... ha ha.}  

     Truthfully that kind of made me laugh because we didn't even know yet if this would be a long term outage.   And there's wouldn't be enough power coming from those to run a freezer, which was my biggest immediate concern.  Freezers will continue to keep your food frozen for quite a long time if you don't open the doors.   But in a long term outage, most food would begin to thaw within 12-18 hours.  Requiring cooking up of any meats, and other foods.   Canning of vegetables, and tossing out ice cream and popsicles.     We have tons of Goat milk in our freezer that wouldn't be good for anything but Cheese or soap.   And truthfully, I'm not prepared for the amount of work it would take to salvage/process all of this.

     We have had a heat wave lately as well, and it was already over 80 outside at 9am so I knew the house was going to heat up pretty quickly.   The Solar panels might power a few fans, but ultimately, we'd have to start living in the basement to keep cool.   I had noodles boiling on the {gas} stove in preparation for dinner, which was actually a good thing, because I had contemplated using my electric pressure cooker that morning, and decided against it.   But all of this ads heat to the room quite easily.

   I also rather enjoyed the fact that within minutes, people were posting on Facebook about the outage from their smart phones with internet contracts.   The whole neighborhood was out of power and we still have Facebook.   Kind of oxymoronic in a cool sort of way.   And I don't discount the usefulness of Facebook in times of emergency either.   It was how the city kept in contact with us about the water issues as well, and how I found out the boil order was lifted.  Its sort of our latest source for local news and information.   And tidbits spread like wildfire, so its really an effective means of checking on everyone and spreading the updates.

    I know you are used to very informative updates from me, but this one is just intended to make you think.   What would YOU do if you had a long term power outage?   Are you prepared to carry on?   Would you be able to cook, eat, keep warm/cool?   Are there things in your house that could/should be changed replaced to accomodate such a situation?  Ie:  having a gas rather than electric stove, water heater, etc. etc.

     I'll ad more to this topic as time goes on.   We can discuss alternate power options, energy efficiency ideas and more.  In the meantime, I'm super grateful that my power was only off for 2 hours and 3 minutes.  :-)   Have a great week!