Treating frozen shoulder with physical therapy

Occasional soreness in the shoulders is a normal part of life, but if you’re part of the population who is affected by adhesive capsulitis, you experience more than sore shoulders. Adhesive capsulitis, more commonly known as frozen shoulder, is a painful condition that causes stiffness in the shoulder. 

Frozen shoulder slowly grows worse over time and further limits the range of motion in your shoulder. It develops for different reasons, but it’s generally believed to be related to inflammation in the shoulder due to an injury or after recovering from invasive surgery.

Frozen shoulder progresses in stages, so treatments vary depending on the stage. However, at each stage of development and recovery from frozen shoulder, physical therapy can help in some way.

The four stages of frozen shoulder include:

1. Pre-freezing — Symptoms are beginning to develop. There will be some achiness and increased pain with movement.
2. Freezing — After several months, the pain has grown worse and you have lost a lot of movement in the shoulder. Pain may feel worse at night when trying to sleep.
3. Frozen — After about a year, shoulder movement is significantly limited and the pain is at its peak.
4. Thawing — After pain hits its peak, symptoms begin to slowly decline over a couple of months.

Because most people don’t know they have frozen shoulder until they’re already at or near the frozen stage, they don’t start receiving treatment until then. However, identifying and treating the symptoms earlier may improve your treatment outcome, so don’t hesitate to seek treatment if something doesn’t seem right with your shoulder.

Physical therapy treatments for frozen shoulder

Physical therapists have several methods for treating frozen shoulder. These look different at each stage of treatment, but generally include:

• Gentle stretches
• Therapeutic strengthening exercises
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Joint mobilization 

Visit Advent Physical Therapy for frozen shoulder treatment

Frozen shoulder has the potential to severely limit your activities and impact your quality of life. With treatment, you can have a better outcome. Our team at Advent Physical Therapy is ready to help you with your frozen shoulder. Contact our team today for more information about frozen shoulder treatment or to schedule an initial appointment