Physical Therapy to Help With a Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder is the common term for adhesive capsulitis — a condition characterized by stiffness, pain, and a significant loss of normal range of motion.

Frozen shoulder typically begins when the connective tissue surrounding the shoulder’s bones, ligaments, and tendons thickens and restricts movement. The condition can occur as a result of prolonged inflammation, or the immobilization of the shoulder following an injury or surgery. People with certain diseases, such as diabetes, are susceptible to developing frozen shoulder.

Symptoms

Frozen shoulder typically develops slowly and lasts over a number of months. There are typically three stages:

Freezing stage: Any movement of your shoulder causes pain, and your shoulder’s range of motion starts to become limited.
Frozen stage: Pain may begin to diminish during this stage, but your shoulder becomes stiffer, and using it becomes more difficult.
Thawing stage: The range of motion in your shoulder begins to improve.

Physical Therapy Can Help!

Although it can take several weeks to see progress, physical therapy can help you significantly speed up your recovery time.
When you have frozen shoulder, full recovery can take from 6-9 months. However, when left untreated the condition can take up to 2 years to recover, with potential permanent loss of motion in your shoulder.

Our physical therapy treatment program includes: