DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband, age 75, has diabetic frozen shoulders. He has extreme pain in both shoulders and cannot raise his arms straight up or out and away from his body. At first, the doctors told him it was arthritis. Another doctor diagnosed him with diabetic frozen shoulder, which we had never heard of. Other than pain medicine and physical therapy, what treatments can help? He has always been very active. He was told it would be two years before an improvement would be seen. – J.H.

ANSWER: The shoulder is the body’s most versatile joint. It moves in more directions than any other joint. A frozen shoulder is one whose motion is greatly limited and greatly painful. Strands of scar tissue have grown in the joint and have wrapped themselves around it and made it immobile. Sometimes this happens after an injury, like a broken shoulder bone. It sometimes follows a stroke. It can occur when a person limits shoulder motion because of slight pain. Your doctor attached “diabetic” to the diagnosis, and it’s true that people with diabetes are more prone to developing it, but it often happens to people who don’t have diabetes.

Physical therapy is the cornerstone of treatment. Your husband has to be faithful to his therapy and has to exercise at home, three or four times a day. Applying heat to the shoulders before exercise makes the exercises easier to do.

A cortisone shot into the joint has helped some with the condition. In resistant cases – those where no progress is being made after months of treatment – an orthopedic surgeon can free the joint from the entrapping scar tissue.

It can take as long as two years before the shoulder regains its motion and becomes pain-free, but many patients are back to normal in a much shorter time period.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I saw the enclosed ad in a local newspaper. It says this stuff can cure incontinence. I am skeptical. Am I right? — C.J.

ANSWER: I have a hard time believing that one product can deliver a “cure” for a condition – prostate gland enlargement – suffered by so many men. If there’s a money-back guarantee, trying it won’t hurt. I found the ingredients on the Internet. Speaking for myself, I am not convinced it’s a worthwhile investment.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com