All too often we have clients coming to us saying, “I just want to be able to lift my arm!” 😢 Usually, this means we’ve got a case of frozen shoulder on our hands. 🤔
Frozen shoulder is a condition where the ligaments in your shoulder have started to stick to the bone, causing your shoulder to lose its mobility. This condition is very restrictive and is often very painful. Usually, it’s caused by trauma or a fall that has impacted the shoulder in some way. But there can be other reasons why it develops.
How Does Frozen Shoulder Happen?
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint, with a capsule around the joint to hold everything together. When the capsule is damaged, it lays down new material to heal. Unfortunately, these materials stick to the bone and stop the shoulder from moving as it would normally. For most people, this means being unable to lift their arm to the side or rotate it backwards – how frustrating! 😡
What Are The Signs And Symptoms?
The symptoms of a frozen shoulder present in three stages:
- The freezing stage is when your shoulder becomes stiff and painful to move. You’ll find your pain slowly increasing and it may worsen at night. It also becomes harder for the shoulder to move.
- The frozen stage is when pain may lessen but your shoulder remains stiff. By this stage, it will usually become difficult to do everyday activities.
- The thawing stage is when the pain lessens, and you are more able to move your shoulder.
What Are The Treatments?
When it comes to treating frozen shoulder, there are two goals: increase motion and decrease pain. Chiropractic care can help with this! 🙌
A common chiropractic technique we use to treat a frozen shoulder is mobilisation of the joint. It involves manipulating your joints and muscle tissue by applying pressure and stretches to key points. This helps to reduce pain and treat the condition. Many of our patients have told us what a massive difference this has made for them. 😃
Chiropractic care for a frozen shoulder means getting the shoulder moving again and working on the surrounding muscles and joints to ensure a natural and complete healing process. 🥳
Doctors often treat this condition with anti-inflammatory medications 💊 to help ease the pain that comes with it.
How Long Does It Take To Get Better?
How long it takes for a frozen shoulder to get better depends on the severity of the condition. It can take weeks to months 📅 to heal fully. It also depends on the number of times a week you receive chiropractic care.
In most cases, our patients respond really well to chiropractic care and massage. 🤗
The length of treatment will also depend on the symptoms that you have, how long you’ve had the condition, and how progressed it is.
What Can I Do?
If you choose to go for chiropractic care to treat your frozen shoulder, we’ll give you simple stretches 🧘and exercises that you can do every day to relieve pain and keep your shoulder moving. You might be tempted to keep your shoulder as still as possible, but movement and stretching is the best remedy. It is vital to healing a frozen shoulder that you work to increase flexibility and strength 💪.
You can also use ice 🧊 and heat therapy ♨ at home. For a frozen shoulder, we recommend using heat first. Once your shoulder is moving more freely, we recommend using ice.
Can It Be Prevented?
Because a frozen shoulder is usually due to an injury, the best way to prevent it is to start going for chiropractic care as soon as the injury occurs. This stops the shoulder from entering the freezing stage and becoming stiff and painful. If caught in its early stages, you may be able to prevent the full onset of frozen shoulder and limit the amount of time it takes you to recover.
If you suspect that you may be experiencing a frozen shoulder, get in touch with us on 01245 699 152 or at admin@inspiredhealthchiropractic.com to book a consultation for chiropractic care.
