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.

Frozen shoulder treatment comes in many forms. Some good, some bad, some ridiculous. However, anyone with a tight, painful shoulder will tell you that a good massage is just about the best thing for temporary pain relief. With a frozen shoulder, the muscles surrounding the shoulder often spasm, as well as become inflamed. This as well as the shrunken/tight inner joint capsule causes extreme pain when trying to lift or move your arm in any direction.

What to do when no one is around???

Grab a tennis ball…

The firm but not so hard tennis ball provides and excellent way to work out local muscle spasms and helps to gain back some of that precious motion lost during the frozen shoulder process. The most common technique is to place the ball along side your deltoid or humerus (your upper arm bone). Then simply lean into the wall and slide up and down along the wall. This will be painful at first, however you can control how much pressure you apply. Try to gradually work up to a firm pressure and work this for about 5 minutes. The increased blood flow along the lateral deltoid will act as a pain suppressor temporarily and actually help you to get some range of motion back.

Remember this is only temporary and should only be used as an adjunct to your prescribed exercise or frozen shoulder treatment regimen.

Frozen shoulder treatment options do and should depend on several factors. First of all you need to know what stage of a frozen shoulder you are in. Early stages of  this condition, characterized by mostly pain and some stiffness, are best treated with aggressive active and passive range of motions exercise, taking care to avoid impingement syndrome. Even the most well meaning practitioners can cause more damage and pain if they are not experienced in the proper execution of range of motion exercises. Early stages also respond better to anti-inflammatories, provided the treating physician feels this is in order. Middle stages of frozen shoulder syndrome, which involve increased stiffness and loss of motion, respond well to joint mobilization by a trained clinician. Later stages, where motion is starting to return and the pain is less, should include strengthening exercises. This is due to the loss of muscle strength from months of decreased use and mobility.

Now obviously physical therapy may not be for everyone, particularly those who have a low pain threshold. These individuals may opt for more passive treatments involving various modalities such as heat, ice, injections, manipulation, or possibly surgery. Thermal modalities such as moist heat and ice only provide short term relief and are considered “coping treatment” as the patient “waits out” there symptoms — which may never occur or may occur at a much slower pace. Injections are more or less masking the symptoms with anti-inflammatory medication and do not get to the root of the condition, which is loss of motion and function. Manipulation is a last resort option (other than capsular debridement) which can lead to significant shoulder trauma and possibility of humerus fractures. Surgical debridement is an invasive treatment which carries with it the risk of infection.

All of the above frozen shoulder treatment options should be researched by the patient so they can decide the on the one that best suits them. Obviously physical therapy is the most preferred treatment as it addresses pain, loss of function, and loss of strength alltogether. If PT is the chosen course of treatment, the patient should make sure they choose a therapist with experience in this area, or use a program designed by a licensed clinician with a specialty in treatments of the upper extremity.

"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.