In 2001, shortly after quitting my job as an MIS manager for a big telemarketing corporation, I went to see a doctor about the pain in my left shoulder. He diagnosed it as an impingement after some minor tests. He prescribed ibuprofen and said to make a follow up appointment if the condition didn't improve within a couple of weeks.

A couple of weeks later, I went back and the same doctor referred me to an orthopedic surgeon. I went to see the orthopedic surgeon and she diagnosed it as "adhesive encapsulitis" and assigned me to physical therapy.

For three months, I went to a physical therapist three times a week. It's a good thing I was unemployed at the time because I wouldn't have been able to work after those two-hour torture ordeals. They would have me lay on a bed and attach a surgical hose to my left wrist and slowly pull my arm up and away from my body until the pain was unbearable. After three months with no improvement, I went back to see the orthopedic surgeon.

I neglected to mention that the doctor had grilled me about having a shoulder injury, in which I assured her I had not, and then explained to me that they didn't know what caused it to happen. Physical therapy was their first course of action. Well, when I returned she wanted to schedule me for a "shoulder manipulation" and explained that it would be done under general anesthesia. I declined. That was the last time I saw a doctor about my condition.

A few months later, two or three, I was sitting on a chair in my garage when it happened. Forgetting my condition and the pain it caused to move my left arm up, I reached up to smack an insect on the wall. I felt the muscle tear away from the bone and no pain. It sounded (and the sound was probably more in my head than anywhere else) like bedsheets ripping apart. Out of curiosity, I raised my arm again. I felt and heard it again. After about an hour of stretching, I regained nearly all motion in my left shoulder. Within a month, I had full motion and elasticity again.

Last year, my right shoulder locked up, only not as bad. It's in that condition now. Using the timeline of the previous occurrence, I estimate it will probably be another six months before it frees up on its own. Do you really think I'm going to voluntarily subject myself to torture again? When hell freezes over.