‍What is frozen shoulder?‍

Adhesive Capsulitis (AC), or commonly known as ‘Frozen Shoulder’.  is characterized by stiffness or immobility of the shoulder joint often accompanied by pain in the region. There is usually a gradual onset of this and is often associated with sleep-disturbing night pain. Frozen shoulder typically goes through 4 stages along a continuum which are: 1) pre-freezing, 2) freezing, 3) frozen, and 4) thawing. Early stages are usually associated with a significant amount of pain however, during the “thawing” stage, pain often resolves but motion restrictions remain present.

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What is frozen shoulder pain like?

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Frozen shoulder is a condition that affects your shoulder joint. Some frozen shoulder symptoms include feeling a dull or achy pain in one shoulder. You might feel the pain in the shoulder muscles that wrap around the top of your arm or you might also feel pain in the upper arm.

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How to cure frozen shoulders quickly?

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Individuals with this condition must understand that there is no quick cure to this, but there are very effective treatments in order to reduce range of motion (ROM) limitations, and it is recommended to perform functional and ROM exercises in a pain-free range. It is important in the early stages to let pain be a guide for exercise, and to not push into painful ranges and potentially aggravate one’s shoulder. Early stage frozen shoulder exercises will include gentle ROM exercises while strengthening exercises will be added as pain decreases. As the condition progresses through its course and pain levels decrease, it is important to prevent self-imposed mobilization which could potentially cause further stiffness and decreased range of motion. Below are some frozen shoulder exercises. 

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What is the best treatment for frozen shoulders?

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The best treatment for frozen shoulder should include a combination of exercises as mentioned before in this article and also the inclusion of modalities such as shortwave diathermy, ultrasound or electrical stimulation may be used in combination with exercises in order to both help reduce pain and improve shoulder ROM. Individuals may also consult with a healthcare provider about the use of non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroid injections to help manage pain. 

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Image 1 - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/frozen-shoulder/symptoms-causes/syc-20372684

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Image 2-

https://www.vejthani.com/2020/10/warning-signs-of-frozen-shoulder/

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