The root cause of a frozen shoulder is inflammation and thickening as well as tightening of the connective tissue capsule that surrounds the shoulder joint.
As a result, this turns the normal elastic tissue into stiff and tight bands of scar like tissue which restrict movement, although the exact trigger for this process that leads to a frozen shoulder is usually unknown.
Although common triggers for a frozen shoulder include:
Joint trauma like recovering from a physical shoulder injury or a stroke that limits arm movement and prolonged inactivity like keeping the shoulder still for a long time as a result of a sling, fracture or even recovery from surgery.
Medical risk factors for a frozen shoulder include:
Conditions like cardiovascular illness and Parkinson's disease.
Thyroid issues like having an underactive thyroid like hypothyroidism or an overactive thyroid also known as hyperthyroidism.
And diabetes, which is the most prominent systemic link as people with diabetes often develop frozen shoulder much more frequently.
Things you should not do with a frozen shoulder are any forcing of painful movements, sleeping directly on the affected side and also avoid any aggressive or heavy stretching with a frozen shoulder.
Never push or pull your arm past the point of mild discomfort into sharp pain when you have a frozen shoulder and avoid carrying of heavy bags or heavy items with the affected arm and avoid fast, sweeping, or throwing motions which jar your shoulder capsule.
Also don't keep the arm completely still all day, because a total lack of movement worsens the stiffness with a frozen shoulder.
You should also avoid heavy weights or using resistance bands until the pain subsides and you enter the thawing stage of the frozen shoulder.
Avoid putting any direct body weight or prolonged pressure on the shoulder that is frozen and avoid poor posture or slumping, which also adds bad alignment stress to your upper body and don't skip any guidance from a professional or push through any high inflammation without any medical advice.
A frozen shoulder does go away on it's own over time, although the process is very slow and it often takes around 1 year to 3 years for the frozen shoulder to go away fully and complete all 3 of the phases of recovery without formal treatment for the frozen shoulder.
The 3 phases and stages of frozen shoulder recovery include:
The freezing stage, which takes 2 to 9 months and the pain during the freezing stage of the frozen shoulder gradually gets worse with any movement, and your range of motion begins to lock up.
Then the frozen stage of the frozen shoulder lasts from 4 to 12 months and the pain often lessens or dulls, although your shoulder remains very stiff and hard to use.
And then finally the thawing stage of the frozen shoulder, which lasts from 5 months to 24 months, which is when your shoulder mobility slowly improves and the function starts to return.
Although the frozen shoulder can go away without treatment, waiting it out for the frozen shoulder to go away on it's own will mean that you will deal with prolonged pain and lost function.
You may also fail to regain your full, normal range of motion without treatment for the frozen shoulder and medical treatment for the frozen shoulder also speeds up recovery and protects your joint mobility.
To help get rid of a frozen shoulder you can use warm packs, take over the counter pain medication and do some gentle stretches.
Most people with a frozen shoulder recover and get better with time as well as some simple care, although full recovery from a frozen shoulder can take several months.
For the gentle stretches and movement to help get rid of a frozen shoulder do pendulum stretches, by allowing your arm with the frozen shoulder to hang down and make very small circles or swing your arm back and forth and even try the finger walk, by standing facing a wall and walk your fingers up the wall as high as you possibly can without heavy pain.
And stop any movement that causes sharp or severe pain and don't force your joint to move.
You can also take a warm shower, warm bath or heating pad on the shoulder for 10 to 15 minutes to relax tight muscles and try cold packs if swelling or sharp pain is worse than the stiffness and take basic anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen if your doctor says that it's safe for you.
Your doctor may also give you a corticosteroid injection if other treatments are not working to cut down deep pain and inflammation quickly and work with a physical therapist for some safe, guided stretching plans.
You can also look into some advanced treatment options for a frozen shoulder like hydrodilatation which is stretching the joint capsule with sterile fluid if the other basic care doesn't help.
It is also okay to massage a frozen shoulder as it can ease pain and relax the tight surrounding muscles, although massaging the frozen shoulder won't cure the underlying joint capsule stiffness by itself.
But the massage is good for a frozen shoulder as it helps to reduce muscle spasms and guarding in your chest, neck and your upper back, which can occur when you stop moving your arm.
When massaging a frozen shoulder, target the surrounding areas and focus on the chest (pectoral muscles), upper traps, neck and your upper arm, instead of forcing deep pressure directly into the painful shoulder joint.
Also use very light and soothing strokes if your shoulder is in the painful "freezing" stage and any deeper work and stretching can also be introduced later as pain subsides.
You should also keep the pressure at a level, which feels tolerable and sharp or severe pain causes the muscles to tighten up even more.
You should also combine the massage of the frozen shoulder with professional guidance, like targeted range of motion exercises or physical therapy and consult with a doctor or even a licensed physical therapist to ensure that your home or your professional care plan matches your current phase of recovery from the frozen shoulder.
For a frozen shoulder heat is better than ice as the heat relaxes tight muscles and also loosens stiff tissue.
Although ice can also be better in some cases for a frozen shoulder and also using heat before stretching and then using ice afterwards can be a good option.
With a frozen shoulder you should use heat when your shoulder feels stiff, tight or aching and apply a heating pad or even take a warm shower for 15 minutes to 20 minutes and you should also use the heat before doing your physical therapy or shoulder stretches.
You should use ice with a frozen shoulder if your shoulder feels sharp, throbbing or hot from acute inflammation and apply an ice pack that is wrapped in a towel for 10 minutes to 15 minutes and the ice is also best used after exercise if the movement irritates the joint.
When using ice or heat packs, wrap them in a towel and never place them directly on your skin and limit sessions of the heat or ice packs to 20 minutes maximum.
The best sleeping position for someone with a frozen shoulder is to sleep on your back or on your unaffected side.
When you have a frozen shoulder you should use strategic placement of your pillow to support your arm, keep your joint in a neutral position and also avoid any direct pressure or painful stretching.
Propping your arm with extra cushions can minimize nighttime pain with a frozen shoulder and help you sleep.
When back sleeping with a frozen shoulder, lay flat on your back and then place a small pillow under the affected elbow and forearm, which elevates your arm slightly and also stops the shoulder capsule from pulling or straining.
You can also side sleep on the good side, by laying on your non painful shoulder and hug a pillow or place a large pillow in front of you to rest your affected arm on, which also keeps it from rolling forward and compressing the joint.
When you have a frozen shoulder you should avoid sleeping on the affected side, avoid stomach sleeping and avoid letting the arm dangle.
With a frozen shoulder you should never allow your arm to hang off the edge of the bed or stretch overhead, because doing so pulls tight on the stiff joint capsule.
Stomach sleeping twists your neck and forces your arms into awkward, painful angles and laying directly on the sore shoulder places intense pressure on the joint and spikes inflammation.
To help ease the pain from the frozen shoulder, you can use a warm heating pad or take a warm shower for 15 minutes before bed to help relax tight shoulder muscles and take over the counter anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen to help cut down on the nighttime throbbing.
Using gentle movement like a very light pendulum swing in the morning or if you wake up stiff can also help to restore blood flow.
The four stages of frozen shoulder are the pre-freezing stage, the freezing stage, the frozen stage and then the thawing stage.
The pre-freezing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts around 1 month to 3 months and you will often feel sharp or aching pain when you move your arm and the pain often gets worse at night and your range of motion is also still mostly normal, but feels tight.
The freezing stage of a frozen shoulder, lasts from 2 to 9 months and the pain becomes much more intense and constant and you rapidly lose your ability to move your shoulder and daily tasks such as sleeping on that side also become very hard.
The frozen stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 4 months to 12 months and the severe pain begins to fade or dull and the stiffness is now at it's absolute worst, which locks the joint and moving your arm in any direction is also difficult.
And finally the thawing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 5 months to as long as 2 years, stiffness begins to break up and normal movement as well as flexibility also slowly return and strength and use of your arm improve with gentle practice.
You will often know if you have a frozen shoulder by looking out for the signs and symptoms of a frozen shoulder, which include a dull, aching pain and a gradual loss of movement.
A frozen shoulder develops slowly in 3 distinct phases, which includes the freezing stage that occurs with severe pain, the frozen stage that occurs with heavy stiffness and then the thawing stage where the motion slowly returns.
The main signs of a frozen shoulder include having a dull or aching pain that is deep in your outer shoulder, having pain that gets worse at night or when you try to sleep on that side, having trouble lifting the arm overhead, experience difficulty reaching behind your back and having a locked or stuck feeling in the shoulder joint.
The 3 stages of a frozen shoulder include the freezing stage, frozen stage and thawing stage.
In the freezing stage of a frozen shoulder, the movement of your shoulder hurts badly, and your range of motion also begins to drop.
This freezing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 6 weeks to as long as 9 months.
In the frozen stage of a frozen shoulder, the pain begins to ease up, although your shoulder also becomes much stiffer and harder to use for daily tasks, which lasts from 4 months to 12 months.
And then the thawing stage of the frozen shoulder, is where movement begins to improve and slowly return closer to normal.
This recovery from the frozen shoulder in the thawing stage can take from 5 months to as long as 24 months or 2 years.