Frozen Shoulder Therapy

Frozen shoulder can be a painful, debilitating problem. It is most often seen in people ages 40-60 years of age. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they are male or female. Frozen shoulder doesn’t always happen in the dominant arm nor is always due to the person’s occupation.

Symptoms of frozen shoulder are pain, stiffness or loss of motion in the shoulder. This is caused by a thickening in the shoulder cavity around the shoulder joint. Many times frozen shoulder therapy can take care of the problem. Diabetics seem to be very susceptible to this problem…

Many times, if an injury occurs and the shoulder is immobilized for a length of time, frozen shoulder will be an end result. Pain is usually located in the outer shoulder area and/or upper arm. It is characterized by a dull pain or aching when the shoulder is moved. Pain is sometimes present when the shoulder is immobilized. Restricted motion or stiffness can occur.

There are three stages of frozen shoulder.

• Freezing stage – The pain comes on slowly. As the pain increases, motion is lost.
• Frozen stage – There is some improvement to the pain, but the stiffness remains.
• Thawing stage – The motion returns slowly.

X-Rays or MRI’s are generally used to diagnose the problem. Sometimes frozen shoulder will get better on its own. Anti-inflammatories can be used to lessen the pain if frozen shoulder therapy is indicated. Frozen shoulder therapy usually includes range of motion exercises that stretch the affected area. Heat can also be used as therapy along with nerve blocks to block the pain during therapy.

When there is no improvement, surgery may be indicated. Surgery can be as simple as putting the patient under anesthesia and forcing the shoulder to move. In more intense cases, incisions may be required to help to stretch the shoulder. Physical therapy is part of the treatment after surgery. Recovery is usually six weeks to three months long.

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