What is frozen shoulder ?

Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a really painful condition that affects the shoulder joint, making it very difficult or near impossible to move – hence the name!

It generally comes on slowly with the person realising one day they just cant lift their arm fully. There isn’t an obvious cause for frozen shoulder and there is definitely no point in blaming yourself!

The shoulder joint is a very shallow ball-and-socket joint with lots and lots of soft tissues holding it together, all this soft tissue is called the joint capsule.

In frozen shoulder, the joint capsule becomes inflamed and angry, leading to tightness, which causes pain and stops you moving your arm fully.

It regularly affects your sleep as you mostly cannot tolerate lying on that arm.

Treatment

There are various treatments for frozen shoulder and its thought the sooner you start physiotherapy and doing your exercises the better. Sometimes people get corticosteroid injections and sometimes these can help. You can even go for a Manipulation under Anaesthetic which can also help, this is basically when the surgeon gives your arm a good pull while you’re knocked out!

Prevention

One of the most common causes of frozen shoulder is not moving a shoulder while recovering from a shoulder injury, broken arm or stroke. If you’ve had an injury that makes it difficult to move your shoulder, talk to your physiotherapist about exercises that can help you maintain your ability to move your shoulder joint.

Frozen shoulder can be very infuriating and can go on for up to 2 years (generally shorter I promise!). It can be hard for people to stay motivated and  often clients report feeling overwhelmed. So remember to keep focusing on the fact YOU CAN AND WILL GET BETTER!

Remember to seek medical attention if you experience difficult symptoms or need prescription pain relief. See your physiotherapist for advice, assessment and treatment.