Frozen shoulder (AKA Adhesive Capsulitis) is a condition of the shoulder that causes significant stiffness and pain. Frozen shoulder develops slowly overtime with worsening stiffness and pain. It can worsen over several years, leaving you with a significant range of motion limitations.
So what causes your shoulder to freeze? Although the exact cause is unknown it is found that the shoulder capsule and ligaments start to progressively tighten and thicken, leaving you with a stiff joint. Some factors that can make you predisposed to frozen shoulder include surgery or injury that limits the use of your arm (think anything requiring use of a sling), thyroid problems or diabetes.
Frozen shoulder has a pattern of tightness that it typically follows. The first most limited motion is external rotation of the shoulder (reaching to touch the back of your head), followed by forward flexion (reaching forward or overhead) and finally internal rotation (reaching behind you to touch your low back). Pain and range of motion limitation can greatly limit how you move and use your shoulder. Imagine trying to get dressed not being able to put your arm over your head…not an easy task!
Frozen shoulder typically progresses through 3 phases:
Freezing phase- shoulder becomes painful to move and starts to have limited range of motion. Usually occurs over 6-9 weeks
Frozen phase- typically less pain although shoulder stiffness remains. Can last 4-6 months
Thawing phase- slowly regain motion for 6 months to 2 years
Although frozen shoulder is very painful, the most important thing is trying to keep your shoulder moving however you can, through as big of a motion as you can. Throw a heating pack on there to make yourself more comfortable and then try some gentle stretching. Move slowly into a stretch and hold it the best you can for 30 seconds. It’s going to be tight and you won't be able to do a whole lot, but THAT'S OK! It will improve, it just takes a lot of time. Your shoulder has been stiffening and becoming painful over the last several months so it will not get better over night, Hang in there!
When our shoulder hurts we want to just keep it locked to our side, which is not ideal for 2 reasons. The first being, that only makes the stiffness worse! Second, it leads to muscles getting weaker and weaker since they aren't being moved (use it or lose it!) which makes recovery harder. It’s important to move your shoulder as much as you can! Reach up to wash your hair with it in a hot shower, try to reach up into a high cabinet, try to wash windows. Even if you feel like you can’t successfully do any of these things or lift anything overhead, at least reach up for it to stretch your shoulder. Try going on a walk and focus on swinging your arm. Squeeze your shoulder blades together whenever you are in a meeting at work. MOTION IS LOTION to that shoulder joint!
Getting therapy helps to gently stretch the shoulder and then strengthen muscles that have become weak from lack of use. A therapist can passively stretch your shoulder while you lay there and relax. They can also complete joint mobs which can help to stretch out tight muscles and ligaments as well as promote swelling relocation and joint lubrication. Massage can be used on tight muscles in addition to exercise to then get those muscles firing. Therapy helps to speed up the stages of frozen shoulder to get you back to living! Check out our exercise guide for gentle stretches to try on your shoulder.
Kommentare