You thought the shoulder pain would go away on it's own. It didn't. Ok, what are your options? Your doctor may have recommended surgery, therapy or a combination of both. If you have been battling a painful, stiff shoulder for any length of time you may have resorted to treatment measures outside of logical thinking to relieve your pain. I've had patients tell me they have used everything from mustard poultices to lubricants made for car parts in attempt to cure frozen shoulder pain.
As long as their method is not directly harmful to them I do not try to argue them down because 1) If they believe it is working I will not succeed in changing their mind, and 2) the person will likely be more receptive to my clinical treatment if I am not argumentative to their beliefs.
However, this is not an article on patient psychology, but the above leads me to answer the question "will exercise cure a frozen shoulder?".
Research shows that most cases of frozen shoulder are "self-limiting" or resolved within 2 years of onset no matter the course of treatment. That's fine, but who wants to live with an arm that is 50% useful at best if they can do something NOW to increase function and range of motion? Therefore while some view that exercise itself cannot cure frozen shoulder
There are many different conditions which may cause this pain. These conditions may include shortening or thickening of the tendons in the capsule of the shoulder, scar tissue, tendonitis, inflammation, bursitis, or rotator cuff injuries.
Rotator cuff injuries are a significant cause of frozen shoulder because of the period of immobility which is required for recovery. This immobility may cause severe stiffness. Those patients who have had past chest surgeries, diabetes, or chronic-inflammatory arthritis in the shoulder will have a much higher odd of developing the pain.
There are some other medical conditions which may mimic frozen shoulder pain, but are diagnosed differently. Arthritis in the shoulder is a big one as it can result in swelling, stiffness, pain, and occasionally an injury to the rotator cuff. Rotator cuff injuries will differ from frozen shoulder in that the range of motion loss with a rotator cuff injury is usually restricted to a certain direction. Frozen shoulder will have a total loss of mobility.
The effect of frozen shoulder is very obvious. When inflammation begins in the shoulder joint, it becomes "sticky". This "stickiness" leads to pain and stiffness which will make the arm very difficult to move. At times, it may freeze up completely.
The three stages of frozen shoulder are freezing, frozen, and thawing. The beginning stage is called the freezing stage because the arm is just starting to freeze up. The end stage is called the thawing stage because the patient will begin to feel some relief and will gradually regain movement in the arm. The middle stage is the frozen stage when the patient has no ability to move the arm at all.
Frozen shoulder symptoms are very odd. A patient may wake up one day unable to move the arm and shoulder, or they may notice the symptoms come on very gradually.There are treatments available for frozen shoulder, such as deep heat ultrasound massages and various forms of physical therapy. However, these treatments are usually a last resort as most doctors prefer to not treat the condition at all.
