Frozen Shoulder Treatment and Exercise Blog

With all of the treatments out there for frozen shoulder, sometimes I get asked about massage and whether it is a good treatment for frozen shoulder sufferers. The answer to this question is a resounding “yes.” While the patient still needs to incorporate other treatment protocols into their program, massage is an excellent tool to help eliminate frozen shoulder. In fact, any program that does not have a soft-tissue component to it, is lacking in my opinion.

Massage techniques, when done correctly, help to work on soft-tissue restrictions that have developed in and around the shoulder. There are many different massage techniques that can and will help loosen up the soft-tissue limitations, increase range of motion, eliminate pain and bring back normal function to the shoulder. Combining good soft-tissue work with strengthening, range of motion exercises, and a good stretching program is the key to long term and fast success with frozen shoulder.

Muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissue are all part of the soft-tissue that surrounds a joint. When someone is suffering from frozen shoulder, some and many times all of this soft-tissue becomes tight, forming contractures, spasms, knots and other restrictions that limit range of motion, cause pain and decrease function. Working on these areas with targeted massage techniques is a sure way to speed up the recovery of frozen shoulder. It is important to always incorporate some kind of soft tissue work into the frozen shoulder program to address these issues. Massage is a great way to do this. It is important however, to make sure the massage therapist understands frozen shoulder and what to work on and why. Many people have learned how to perform their own soft-tissue work in the comfort of their own home pretty easily with the same good outcomes.

When people are told that they have a frozen shoulder, they have many questions. Some people want to know what they have to do to get rid of it, others want to know how long it will take to get rid of it for good. Some however want to know how much therapy will be needed to eliminate the frozen shoulder. In other words, people want to know how many days a week will they have to commit to working on the elimination program.

While I would love to say there is a clear-cut answer to this, as always it depends. Much of this depends on a few different things. It will depend on what program the person is following? How bad the frozen shoulder is? What is the patient’s schedule like? Depending on those answers will influence just how many days in the week the program will have to be followed.

I have successfully treated people in as little as three days a week, and others I have treated for five days a week. Finally, some people can get away with doing a program twice a week too. Usually, a three-day a week program can be very successful with a days rest in-between each session.

I have found that people are most successful when their frozen shoulder programs have all of the essential components included in every session. It is always important that each area that needs to be addressed is worked on each time. For example, strengthening, range of motion exercises, and stretching need to be included in a well thought out program each day. By incorporating each of these aspects, a person can and will be much more successful and will not need to do more than two or three days a week.

Diagnosing frozen shoulder can be tricky. Although it is my feeling that most physicians can accurately classify this condition when they do a thorough exam, some people have symptoms of frozen shoulder and never realize that they do in fact have a frozen shoulder. Some physicians classify frozen shoulder when a person is limited in one area of range of motion, others only diagnosis it when almost all range of motion is compromised.

How can you tell if you have frozen shoulder? As I already said, the person in question shoulder always have their shoulder checked by a physician first. Shoulder injuries, and/or shoulder pain can lead to frozen shoulder, so it is important to do what is necessary to prevent it if you feel you are getting some of the symptoms associated with frozen shoulder. Many times, even a small shoulder injury can turn into a frozen shoulder. People with pain and/or a shoulder injury will stop moving their shoulder to help protect the area and help with healing. Over time, lack of movement can cause other problems such as adhesions, and knots, which will bind up the soft-tissue and decrease motion. Proper movement in the key in prevention. Stiffness can set in pretty quickly, and most people will see this as more reason not to move their shoulder. As time goes on, more pain and stiffness set in and more range of motion is compromised. It is an endless cycle many times.

If a person develops pain or has an injury to their shoulder, supervised movement should begin as soon as possible. Although there are times when complete immobilization is necessary, movement should begin as soon as it is safe to do so. A physical therapist, or physician will be the best person to know when the right time to start moving the shoulder should begin. Once you start to lose any kind of normal function or movement, you could be on your way to losing even more motion and function and this could be the beginning of a frozen shoulder syndrome. At this point the person needs to see a professional and get the shoulder moving safely to prevent any more lost function and movement from occurring.

Frozen shoulder is a complex condition that plagues people every day. When people learn that they have a frozen shoulder, they scramble to find the best management. There are many different treatments that people have used to combat their frozen shoulder; however the ‘best’ treatment is to make sure the patient uses a multi-level protocol.

Using a multi-level treatment protocol means that the person is not focusing on one aspect only of dealing with the problems and symptoms, rather that they are dealing with all of the issues associated with their frozen shoulder. Treatments such as this will help cover all of the bases and allow proper motion, flexibility, strength and pain reduction, which will make certain that the frozen shoulder will be treated and eliminated much faster than not.

Frozen shoulder occurs for many different reasons and around different areas within the shoulder, so it is imperative that the person treats all of the symptoms and all of the areas that are involved. The message is that a person cannot just treat one thing and hope to eliminate their frozen shoulder. Patients that follow stretching only programs and do not have true success with their frozen shoulder treatment have demonstrated this many times.

To have true success is treating frozen shoulder, the patient must be sure to include a good, quality stretching protocol, as well as increasing strength, treating soft-tissue issues, and working on increasing range of motion in all directions. A well-planned, progressive treatment protocol that includes all of these components will ensure true success.

Many people erroneously think that only stretching will be enough to cure their frozen shoulder. While stretching is a very important aspect of any good frozen shoulder elimination program, it is only one component and true success is only derived when you combine stretching with other essential aspects.

Stretching is only part of the answer for eliminating frozen shoulder, but not the whole answer. It is important to realize that frozen shoulder is a very complex problem and there are many different things going on in and around your shoulder joint if you are suffering from frozen shoulder.

Besides stretching, proper strengthening of the shoulder joint and surrounding muscles is essential. While stretching will help increase range of motion of certain muscles and muscle groups, strengthening will enable the joint to move further through the range of motion, keeping the shoulder area strong and free of stiffness. Proper strengthening helps you to achieve greater range of motion in all directions because when the muscles and muscle groups are active and working properly, they will better be able to pull the arm through various directions and planes.

Another component that needs to be in every frozen shoulder elimination program, is quality soft-tissue work. The soft tissue consists of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and other connective tissue that is found in and around the joint. In people with frozen shoulder, this soft-tissue will shorten, form adhesions, knots and sticky scar tissues

Diagnosing frozen shoulder can be tricky. Although it is my feeling that most physicians can accurately classify this condition when they do a thorough exam, some people have symptoms of frozen shoulder and never realize that they do in fact have a frozen shoulder. Some physicians classify frozen shoulder when a person is limited in one area of range of motion, others only diagnosis it when almost all range of motion is compromised.

How can you tell if you have frozen shoulder? As I already said, the person in question shoulder always have their shoulder checked by a physician first. Shoulder injuries, and/or shoulder pain can lead to frozen shoulder, so it is important to do what is necessary to prevent it if you feel you are getting some of the symptoms associated with frozen shoulder. Many times, even a small shoulder injury can turn into a frozen shoulder. People with pain and/or a shoulder injury will stop moving their shoulder to help protect the area and help with healing. Over time, lack of movement can cause other problems such as adhesions, and knots, which will bind up the soft-tissue and decrease motion. Proper movement in the key in prevention. Stiffness can set in pretty quickly, and most people will see this as more reason not to move their shoulder. As time goes on, more pain and stiffness set in and more range of motion is compromised. It is an endless cycle many times.

If a person develops pain or has an injury to their shoulder, supervised movement should begin as soon as possible. Although there are times when complete immobilization is necessary, movement should begin as soon as it is safe to do so. A physical therapist, or physician will be the best person to know when the right time to start moving the shoulder should begin. Once you start to lose any kind of normal function or movement, you could be on your way to losing even more motion and function and this could be the beginning of a frozen shoulder syndrome. At this point the person needs to see a professional and get the shoulder moving safely to prevent any more lost function and movement from occurring.

Diagnosing frozen shoulder can be tricky. Although it is my feeling that most physicians can accurately classify this condition when they do a thorough exam, some people have symptoms of frozen shoulder and never realize that they do in fact have a frozen shoulder. Some physicians classify frozen shoulder when a person is limited in one area of range of motion, others only diagnosis it when almost all range of motion is compromised.

How can you tell if you have frozen shoulder? As I already said, the person in question should always have their shoulder checked by a physician first. Shoulder injuries, and/or shoulder pain can lead to frozen shoulder, so it is important to do what is necessary to prevent it if you feel you are getting some of the symptoms associated with frozen shoulder. Many times, even a small shoulder injury can turn into a frozen shoulder. People with pain and/or a shoulder injury will stop moving their shoulder to help protect the area and help with healing. Over time, lack of movement can cause other problems such as adhesions, and knots, which will bind up the soft-tissue and decrease motion. Proper movement in the key in prevention. Stiffness can set in pretty quickly, and most people will see this as more reason not to move their shoulder. As time goes on, more pain and stiffness set in and more range of motion is compromised. It is an endless cycle many times.

If a person develops pain or has an injury to their shoulder, supervised movement should begin as soon as possible. Although there are times when complete immobilization is necessary, movement should begin as soon as it is safe to do so. A physical therapist, or physician will be the best person to know when the right time to start moving the shoulder should begin. Once you start to lose any kind of normal function or movement, you could be on your way to losing even more motion and function and this could be the beginning of a frozen shoulder syndrome. At this point the person needs to see a professional and get the shoulder moving safely to prevent any more lost function and movement from occurring.
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Many people that are afflicted with a frozen shoulder wonder if frozen shoulder can be prevented, or if they could have done anything to prevent it from occurring. While every case is different, most cases of frozen shoulder can be prevented from happening in the first place. There are some things that can be done when symptoms arise.

Usually people have some kind of shoulder or upper extremity injury that starts them on the road to experiencing frozen shoulder. Whether it is a rotator cuff problem, or a minor injury that occurs from exercising, frozen shoulder can develop pretty quickly if the right measures are not taken from the beginning.

For one, if someone starts to experience shoulder issues it is vital that they have their shoulder checked out by a physician immediately to ensure that the proper course of action is being followed. Once the diagnosis and treatment is established, the patient must ensure that he or she is maintaining the essential components of function that are necessary for healing and more so important for preventing frozen shoulder.

One thing that a person can do is keep your shoulder strong by doing some type of resistance training in form of weights, resistance machines, heavy bends or just normal range of motion activities that help keep the muscles surrounding your shoulder strong. It is important that you do the right exercises through the right range of motions to keep your shoulders strong and moving the correct way as well.

The second thing that you can do to prevent Frozen Shoulder is to follow a good and very specific stretching routine. It is not enough just to do one or two stretches, but you have to do stretches through out the week through certain range of motion to keep your shoulders limber and moving the right way.

With the many different treatment options, programs and advice that are out there for dealing with frozen shoulder, coupled with the fact that many people never have true success in getting rid of their frozen shoulder, the question must be asked; “How successful is frozen shoulder treatment?”

Frozen shoulder elimination treatments can be successful if the program that is being followed is a solid program that includes all of the essential components. Strength training, stretching, soft-tissue work and range of motion exercises, all need to be included in a good plan. Further, there needs to be a 100% commitment from the patient to the program. Consistency and hard work is essential for success.

Many people fall into the trap of only working on one or two aspects of the problem. For example, some people think that if they just stretch the muscles in and around the shoulder that this will be enough to get rid of their frozen shoulder. Although stretching always needs to be in the program, it is only one part of the puzzle. By working on all of the issues, such as getting rid of soft-tissue restrictions, strengthening the muscles that surround the shoulder and including range of motion exercises in all directions, a person will be much more successful in treating their frozen shoulder.

Frozen shoulder does not have to be a permanent issue for people. People that have found a complete program that includes the aspects that are mentioned above, and are consistent with their therapy are ultimately successful in treating their frozen shoulder. Most of the success depends on consistency and commitment to a good program. Frozen shoulder can be treated successfully and kept away forever like this.

Many people have encountered bad programs, or limited success with therapy and have not been successful with their frozen shoulder. For the people that have found complete programs and have been consistent, success is almost always certain.