I looked at the diagnostic specialist and burst into tears. She had seen other women like me and knew what was wrong with my shoulder. Finally, after 14 months of being tossed between physicians, specialists, and physical therapists and many misdiagnoses, I had an answer: frozen shoulder. It explained the extreme pain in my shoulder along with the stiffness and inability to move the shoulder joint. This condition takes 1 to 3 years to resolve, and there is little that can be done to relieve the pain or force the shoulder to move.