Which Exercises for Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder is a common debilitating disorder characterized by shoulder pain and progressive loss of shoulder movement. Frozen shoulder is frequently associated with other systemic conditions or occurs following periods of immobilization, and has a protracted clinical course, which can be frustrating for patients as well as health-care professionals. Frozen shoulder is characterized by fibroproliferative tissue fibrosis, whereby fibroblasts, producing predominantly type I and type III collagen, transform into myofibroblasts (a smooth muscle phenotype), which is accompanied by inflammation, neoangiogenesis and neoinnervation, resulting in shoulder capsular fibrotic contractures and the associated clinical stiffness. Diagnosis is heavily based on physical examination and can be difficult depending on the stage of disease or if concomitant shoulder pathology is present. Management consists of physiotherapy, therapeutic modalities such as steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medications, hydrodilation and surgical interventions; however, their effectiveness remains unclear. Facilitating translational science should aid in development of novel therapies to improve outcomes among individuals with this debilitating condition.

Millar NL, Meakins A, Struyf F, Willmore E, Campbell AL, Kirwan PD, Akbar M, Moore L, Ronquillo JC, Murrell GAC, Rodeo SA. Frozen shoulder. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2022 Sep 8;8(1):59. doi: 10.1038/s41572-022-00386-2. PMID: 36075904.

[katharine]

I recently went through frozen shoulder. My shoulder is 90% of normal now I'd say. It was incredibly painful and seemed to come out of nowhere. I'm 55 and have heard that it's fairly common in post menopausal women, which fits with the fact that my sister and one sister in law have all suffered through it in our fifties. I still do all of the stretching exercises on both shoulders because I honestly feel like it could easily affect either shoulder at any point as they both feel a bit stiff. I ended up getting a cortisone shot and that did help, along with exercises. I feel for anyone going through this painful condition.

[dr.vigneshkumarphdphysioth]

🎉its a fantastic and very very used active shoulder exs i have given to 1000 of my patients worked well got recovered ...great dr andrea

[JacquelynLaRonde]

Dr Furlan, could you do a vid on IV Lidocaine/Magnesium treatment? it was brought up as a possible treatment for my decades-long chronic pain.

[mariapinto]

I've heard that injections are not good bcoz u can get FS agn..it's ok to be done in the first stage

[LavernDaniels]

I am having frozen shoulder pain burning what can do it really pain and burning