How can physical therapists treat frozen shoulder pain that’s running down your arm?

Have you ever thought how not being able to move one shoulder would affect your daily life? Most people don’t. However, those who develop frozen shoulder often must deal with pain down their arm and other issues. 

Frozen shoulder is also called adhesive capsulitis. It occurs when the shoulder joint becomes excessively stiff and painful, and adhesive capsulitis affects up to 5% of the general population every year. Physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for frozen shoulder and the pain down the arm it can cause. One reason it can be so effective is the many techniques a physical therapist can use to treat your adhesive capsulitis. 

Two physical therapy techniques that can help treat frozen shoulder and pain down your arm

Physical therapists have been trained to treat a wide range of musculoskeletal disorders, including frozen shoulder. They also have the ability to build you a treatment plan that’s unique to your needs. A few of the therapy techniques your physical therapist may use to treat your shoulder include: 

• Joint mobilization — This technique involves your physical therapist moving your joint with their hands. The goal is to improve joint mobility. Joint mobilization can be very helpful for patients with adhesive capsulitis. One study points out that this technique helped improve shoulder range of motion (ROM) by 28.6 degrees. 
• Muscle energy techniques — This therapy method focuses on improving joint mobility by intentionally stretching the muscles around it. Muscle energy techniques involve the patient moving the joint in a specific direction. The physical therapist uses their hands to resist this movement. A study on frozen shoulder patients reports that muscle energy techniques led to benefits like: 

A nearly 29-point improvement in shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI) scores.

An almost 3-point improvement in visual analogue scale (VAS) scores.

An over 20-point increase in shoulder range of motion. 

Find help for frozen shoulder and the pain running down your arm at Advent PT

Keen to treat frozen shoulder effectively? Want to decrease the pain in your shoulder and running down your arm? If you answered yes, our physical therapists at Advent Physical Therapy are primed to help you. Our team offers free screenings that can pinpoint how far your frozen shoulder has progressed. Also, our physical therapists are adept at building personalized therapy plans that can: 

• Decrease pain.
• Boost shoulder mobility. 
• Increase your ability to do normal daily tasks.
• Reduce your risk of future shoulder issues. 

In addition, we can use our virtual therapy and at-home care services to help you treat shoulder pain right in your own home. 

Contact our team today for more information about our frozen shoulder treatment options or to schedule your initial appointment.