FROZEN SHOULDER: TREATMENT & SYMPTOMS

I’ve had a couple of people come to my Pilates classes as a way of treating  and preventing this uncomfortable and frustrating condition.  In both cases they needed to improve their posture and shoulder stability and they both had previously belonged to a gym where they had used heavy weights during repetitive exercise.  I’m happy to say that all is well now due to the fact that Pilates takes a safe, gentle but highly effective approach to exercise.  Posture and shoulder stability are key elements in Pilates too.   Also known as adhesive capsulitis, this refers to stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint leading to partial or full immobility.  It is most common in the 40 – 60 age range and makes carrying out even the simplest of daily tasks difficult and can last for 2 or 3 years. 

Frozen shoulder can benefit greatly from gently mobility and flexibility exercises

Symptoms 

They seem to appear in stages over a period of time:- 

1. Lasting for 2 to 9 months, the shoulder will feel stiff and achy before becoming very painful and is worse when lying down on the affected side.
2. Between 4 months and a year, you will notice the shoulder becoming gradually stiffer, though not necessarily more painful.  Because the muscles aren’t being used effectively, they may start to waste somewhat.
3. The final stage is the road to recovery and can last for about 5 months to a year.  The stiffness will gradually ease, as will the pain until you regain mobility in the shoulder. 

Causes 

The shoulder joint is surrounded by a capsule of fibrous tissue which is stretched when you raise your arms above your head and hangs like a pouch when you lower the arms.  When this capsule becomes thick and swollen, frozen shoulder occurs.  Heavy exercise, minor shoulder injury or for no particular reason, it is thought that scar tissue builds up, leaving little room for movement in the joint.  Those at risk:- 

• Anyone involved in strenuous exercise or carrying heavy loads
• Diabetics, though the reason is not known for sure
• Women: far more common in menopausal women, so hormones could be involved
• Poor posture, eg, round shoulders
• Certain health conditions such as over-active thyroid, heart disease, Parkinsons 

Treatment 

Mobility exercises for the shoulder under the guidance of a physiotherapist can help and continuing to use the shoulder as much as you are able is also good: inactivity will lead to muscle wastage.  Steroid injections and nerve blocks can be very effective, but are short term.

Prevention

See your doctor as soon as you feel pain in the shoulder as early treatment can prevent the problem from worsening.  Try not to strain the shoulder and always mobilise the shoulder before exercise and stretch well afterwards.

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