Frozen Shoulder
What is it?
Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a painful condition where the shoulder joint becomes stiff and restricts your movement. The lining of the shoulder joint, called a “capsule”, is normally a flexible structure that allows a large amount of shoulder movement. However, with a frozen shoulder, the shoulder joint capsule becomes contracted and inflamed. This results in reduced flexibility and a lot of pain with movement.
What causes it?
Frozen shoulder is a condition that often starts out of the blue and has no distinctive cause. However, it has been linked with diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and can be triggered by an impact injury to the shoulder. This condition mostly affects people aged 40-60 years old. It is also more common in women than in men.
Referred to Isy by my chiropractor. Very painful frozen shoulder condition. 3 treatments by Isy and I am playing my best golf in years. Isy is very empathic, highly skilled and simply the best. My very best recommendations. P. Skaadegaard
Symptoms of Frozen Shoulder
Three stages of frozen shoulder symptoms exist.
Stage 1: The Freezing Stage
The shoulder starts to become painful. Increasingly so when reaching out for things. Shoulder movement decreases and pain worsens at night.
Stage 2: The Frozen Stage
Pain may start to decrease, however, the shoulder joint continues to stiffen and movement is now very limited.
Stage 3: The Thawing Stage
With correct treatment, the shoulder movement gradually increases and the pain begins to fade away. The shoulder joint returns to a more “normal” condition.
Non-medical Treatment
Sports Massage therapy for frozen shoulder can be an effective way to support and speed up recovery. Here at Elite Performance Therapy we can assess your shoulder and use several methods to increase movement of your shoulder. Techniques include:
> Specific exercises for shoulder pain designed to stretch the affected joint capsule
> Soft Tissue Massage
> Joint Mobilisations
> Electrotherapy
> Advice on pain relief and methods to reduce day to day pain
A combination of these methods will help to reduce your pain, increase movement and get you back to the activities that you enjoy!