Frozen Shoulder Relief

The Road to Regaining Shoulder Mobility From Frozen Shoulder

To make sure that you don’t get caught in the cycle of disuse, first see your doctor so that your problem can be properly diagnosed. Exercise, Once your shoulder problem is diagnosed, follow the prescribed exercise program that is designed to gradually increase your shoulder’ s range of motion. These exercise may be painful, but they can put you and your shoulder back on the road to recovery, some exercises can be done at home, others may need to be done under the direction of a physical therapist.

frozen shoulder pain relief

Physical Therapist, if physical therapy is prescribed for you, your therapist will probably use other kinds of treatment in addition to exercise. These may include mobilization, which is gentle, passive movement of the bones to free adhesions. If you have severely frozen shoulder, you may have to be hospitalized so that you can be placed under general anesthesia while your doctor moves your shoulder by manipulation.

An occupational therapist may be recommended to aid you in returning to your routine activities at home and work . Maintenance, once mobility is regained, you’ll have to maintain it by taking a little time every day to move your shoulder through the most complete range of motion possible. Don’t be discouraged if progress is slow. Remember, returning the shoulder to its normal range of motion takes time – usually longer  than it took to become immobilized.

Should You Choose Physical Therapy For Frozen Shoulder Relief ?

A good program starts with an accurate diagnosis by your physician. Simply trying to "self-treat" a frozen shoulder with randomly chosen exercises runs the risk of inducing further loss of motion and increasing the amount of pain. However with a properly chosen PT program a patient with this condition can make a difference in his/her recovery, although it is almost always preferable to have "hands-on" care from a specialist who can provide joint mobilization.

Treatment techniques used by physical therapist to treat a stiff or frozen shoulder include the use of thermal modalities such as moist heat (provides short-term pain relief and increases blood flow into the affected shoulder), electrical stimulation (reduces muscle spasm and pain), ultrasound (focal deep heat of shoulder soft tissue), joint mobilization (increases the joints' mobility), and targeted exercise (increases strength and function affected by immobility or disuse of the shoulder). These techniques are used in specific combinations depending on the stage of adhesive capsulitis the patient is in or severity of the patient's symptoms.

Physical therapy for frozen shoulder relief is the best option for those who wish to get to the root of the problem and maximize their recovery.