Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, occurs when your shoulder joint is stiff and painful. This happens because the shoulder capsule becomes thicker, therefore stiffening and tightening. As a result, thick bands of tissue develop around the area.
Symptoms may take a while to heal, ranging from approximately 1 to 3 years. These symptoms include the freezing stage: shoulder movement causes pain, and its range of motion is limited (2-9 months). Next, you have the frozen stage: decreased pain, but the shoulder becomes stiffer and more difficult to move (4-12 months). Finally, there’s the thawing stage: the shoulder can move better, and pain continues to lessen (5-24 months).
This disease typically affects people between the ages of 40 and 60, and women more so than men. Unfortunately, we are still not quite sure what causes a frozen shoulder, although there are a couple of factors that may put you at higher risk for developing a frozen shoulder.
Here are the best do’s and don’ts for a frozen shoulder:
Do for Frozen Shoulder: Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy North York is the best-recommended course of action for someone with a frozen shoulder. Specific exercises can help you restore motion. These routines can be done under the guidance of a physical therapist or simply at home.
External rotation is a passive stretch that involves only you and a doorway. Stand in a doorway and bend your elbow to 90 degrees to reach the doorframe. Keep your hand in place and rotate your body away from your arm for a stretch in your shoulder. Hold the position for 30 seconds, relax, and repeat.
Another stretch we recommend is the forward flexion to the prone position. To do this, lie on your back with your legs straight and your arms by your side. Use your unaffected arm to slowly lift your affected arm above your head until you feel a gentle stretch in your shoulder. Hold this position for 15 seconds, relax, and repeat.
The final stretch we have for you is the crossover arm stretch. This is a classic shoulder stretch we see in athletes warming up. Stand up straight and pull one arm across your chest, just below your chin, as far as possible without pain. Hold this position for 30 seconds, relax, and repeat.
Do for Frozen Shoulder: Anti-inflammatory medicines
This is a relatively simple solution. Over-the-counter medications like aspirin and ibuprofen can help reduce the pain you feel and the swelling that may occur. This, however, is a solution for short-term relief.
Do for Frozen Shoulder: Hydrodilation
If the pain and swelling can not be relieved by medication and physical therapy, some doctors may recommend you partake in hydrosilation. This procedure involves injecting sterile fluid into your shoulder joint to expand and stretch the joint, increasing movement. It is conducted by a radiologist using imaging technology to guide where the fluid will be placed.
Do for Frozen Shoulder: Discuss surgery with your doctor if your symptoms are not improving
If physical therapy and other noninvasive pathways do not alleviate your pain, you and your doctor may need to discuss the option of surgery. Go over the possible treatments and risks, and rewards associated with each to get an understanding of all of your options. These options are typically offered during the disease’s second stage (frozen).
The goal is to stretch the joint capsule, typically with manipulation under anesthesia. This manipulation breaks up adhesions that may have formed. Alternatively, doctors could perform an arthroscopy to slice through stiff areas of the joint to relieve your symptoms.
Don’t for Frozen Shoulder: Immobilize your shoulder after an injury
A frozen shoulder commonly develops after a shoulder is immobilized, whether it be from an injury, a fracture, or surgery. As such, doctors recommend patients move their shoulders as soon as possible after injury or surgery, even if it is painful. As mentioned previously, we recommend you speak to your healthcare provider about possible exercises to maintain your ability to move your shoulder joint in your given circumstances.
Don’t for Frozen Shoulder: Maintain improper health
One of the greatest risk factors for developing a frozen shoulder is having certain diseases. Diseases such as diabetes, an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), cardiovascular disease, or Parkinson’s disease may increase one’s risk.
As such, do your best to maintain proper health to avoid the symptoms of the diseases mentioned above, in tandem with a frozen shoulder.
Don’t for Frozen Shoulder: Do activities that cause pain
We know we preached movement and activity to keep your shoulder loose; however, it is also important that you refrain from moving your shoulder in pulling, jerky, and jarring movements. This will only increase your pain and add more strain to your muscles. If you continue to move your shoulder in ways that cause pain, the tendons in your arm will work harder to protect your joint, which could result in tendonitis! We don’t want that, now, do we?
