Ever thought of making use of massage to treat frozen shoulder? In the event you haven’t, then it is best to realize you’re leaving out an extremely useful therapeutic software which will help to decrease the hurtful symptoms and even improve shoulder ROM. It’s astounding how just laying hands on an affected area can make an immediate difference, and if employed in combination with skilled training on how and specifically where to massage a frozen shoulder the outcome is tremendous. Forget the idea that you might have to be professionally trained to give this sort of treatment or that you have to be an anatomy major to massage a person with adhesive capsulitis and use the following very simple ideas to make a straightforward massage a helpful treatment.

At the start, whenever feasible employ heat, if possible moist heat earlier than starting the massage appointment. This opens capillaries and also allows blood to soften the tissues of the shoulder complex. Moist heat can be by means of a warm shower, a bath, or simply putting on a heating pad or heated rice sock over a damp bath towel. Apply the heat for about 15-20 minutes. If you are diabetic then take extra precautions to avoid burns if using a heating pad as the skin might not have normal sensation.

Treat Frozen Shoulder With “Different Strokes”

After the initial preparation, make sure the patient is sitting up and begin with gentle multi-directional strokes, named “effleurage”, over the top of the shoulder, then the front, and finally to the rear of the shoulder complex. This part of the frozen shoulder treatment session should be void of any pressure whatsoever. After this, begin to add some graduated pressure to the soft parts of the shoulder region such as the trap muscle (top part of your shoulder which extends into your neck), then the side portion of the shoulder girdle (deltoid), and finally the muscle between the shoulder blades called the rhomboid. This entire part of the treatment may last anywhere from three to five minutes.

After that, begin skin rolling across the back, side and trapezius. This is done by taking a small roll of skin between the thumb, index and middle fingers. While applying steady pressure with the thumbs of both hands, “roll” the skin in different directions by “walking” your fingers up and across the shoulder and upper back region. This too should continue for about 5 minutes. By this point anyone with a frozen shoulder will consider this massage treatment the best instant pain relief around to treat frozen shoulder.

Treat Frozen Shoulder | Applying The Right Amount of Pressure

The next step is to start applying gradually increasing pressure to the muscles of the shoulder with a circle motion, but while staying on the same small area of tight musculature. Care should be taken to not increase the pressure too much, but rather enough so the person describes it as “firm” and “moderately deep”. Using this technique you can also increase the person’s shoulder range of motion by first taking the shoulder to it’s maximum end point or just before the onset of strong pain, then applying this massage technique to the tight or spasmed area.

Last, finish the session by going back to the light crossing strokes. This should again last around 5 minutes. After the massage have the person do light shoulder rolls forwards and backwards. If desired, more heat can be added for a short time before beginning any frozen shoulder exercises to treat frozen shoulder.

Patients in this  stage ideally by now have been clinically diagnosed by a competent doctor. Should they be fortunate enough, then his or her physician has sent them to a knowledgeable physical therapist who specializes in treating this disease. Even so, a lot are simply referred to the nearest therapy clinic and end up receiving the ordinary, common frozen shoulder treatment routines.  Pulley stretches, ice/heat, ROM exercise, etc… A certain amount of initial movement can be restored but at the cost of much pain. It is no surprise a large number of individuals quit going after a couple of agonizing appointments. Does anyone want spend time and money on some torture sessions that produce few results?

If you’re fortunate enough to be among the blessed few to get a physical therapist knowledgeable in treating frozen shoulder, then you’ll hopefully notice him or her say such phrases as “active release”, “accupressure”, and “joint mobilization”, to name a few. Otherwise,  my recommendation would be to look for such a professional who includes these kind of therapies in care plan, or else plan some painful exercise sessions along with attempts to coerce your  irritated shoulder into submission! Practicioners having good results treating this problem realize the extreme pain their patients are living through and procede with therapy in a significantly gentler way.

Can you expect pain with the treatments? Absolutely, however the discomfort will likely be minimal and an increase in mobility will likely be attained, possibly within the first few visits. A thourough professional will likely consider the patients’ priority functional objectives and then try to concentrate on these first. Attaining such functions as tucking a shirt tail in or fastening a bra clasp on the initial few appointments can do wonders for a patients’ outlook on life and upcoming treatment sessions. These types of functions may be accomplished without attaining complete range of motion even though this will be the end objective regarding any worthwhile plan of care.

In conclusion, helpful advice for anybody with frozen shoulder would be to perform their due diligence to find an experienced physical therapist that has experience and knowledge in treating frozen shoulder… Not only to achieve ROM, but to improve function and the quality of life the person is searching for.

"Is This You?"

It’s time to get some answers…

I’m a registered physical therapist with a specialization in hand and upper extremity therapy. Being a former shoulder patient myself, I can tell you firsthand of the wrenching pain this one appendage can cause. All of my patients are special to me, but I have a certain special connection with my patients who have shoulder problems.

You see, the shoulder is a person’s connection with the world. An injury or disability to the shoulder suddenly breaks that connection. The patient’s focus is now on finding relief or getting back function so the connection to the world is once again re-established. This is often where the difficulty lies… There are so many reasons for shoulder pain and even more “remedies” that a person can become overwhelmed. Even worse, a wrong self-diagnosis can lead to ineffective treatment or even damaging treatment.

This site attempts to answer some common questions about shoulder pain, it’s origin or cause, and current available treatments for any given diagnosis.

What This Blog Is NOT Meant For:

This blog is meant for informational purposes only and not meant to replace the advice or treatment of a physician or qualified specialist.

What This Blog IS Meant For:

People with shoulder pain want pain relief, bottom line. They need a resoursce with easy-to-find answers to their most common questions. While education about their particular condition is a very important part of treatment, I believe it is not necessary to give overly detailed anatomy lessons, or spill out a lot of medical jargon in order to educate the patient. In fact, sometimes using an analogy that relates to the person’s hobbies or interest is the best education of all. They begin to understand their condition on their terms which translates to more emotional meaning for the patient and therefore  more compliance with treatment.