Frozen shoulder… Chiro can help

Today we’re talking about the shoulder!

The shoulder joint is something you do not realise you use so frequently until it is injured or pain is experienced in the area.

Today we look at a specific type of injury caused in the shoulder joint known as a frozen shoulder.

So What is a frozen shoulder? A frozen shoulder (or adhesive capsulitis) is where your shoulder has significant pain and extreme stiffness inside the shoulder joint where you can hardly use it.

The signs and symptoms that are typically associated with it are often slow starting and will worsen over time. There are typically three stages in which is develops and we will break that down later in the blog.

But first lets look further into why someone may experience a frozen shoulder… So, It is often caused by inflammation of the capsule & the tissue surrounding the shoulder joint. Resulting from the gradual loss of movement in the glenohumeral joint. NOW, This joint is known as the most mobile joint in the body so is important to have the ability to move it effectively.

There may be times after injury that you are required to immobilise your shoulder, and this is when you have an increased risk of developing a frozen shoulder. This would be something that could occur after a surgery, broken arm or even during the recovery of a stroke. By the way it is most common for people over the age of 40 to experience a frozen shoulder.

There are a range of exercises to improve and test the range of motion of the shoulder. If this is not something that helps, some people opt for numbing medications that can be injected directly into the joint. However, keeping it moving is the easiest way to stop yourself from acquiring frozen shoulder

If you think that you have a frozen shoulder it requires a physical examination and possibly x-ray or some additional tests to receive a diagnosis.

A frozen shoulder typically develops over a period of time in three stages

• The FREEZING STAGE where movement of the shoulder causes pain and movement becomes limited. This stage is known to last from 2 up to 9 months.
• The FROZEN STAGE comes next with a reduced amount of pain experiences however it is common that the shoulder becomes stiffer for about 4 to 12 months
• The THAWING STASGE is the last and final stage and it is where the shoulders ability to move increases and still can last 5 to 24 months until the shoulder has healed.

If you have recently had an injury or are recovering from a stroke or type of surgery that required you to reduce the movement of your shoulder joint it is best to look at some exercises that can maintain the ability to move the shoulder joint to reduce the likelihood of experiencing a frozen shoulder.

We have a great range of exercises and treatment protocols hear that Chiropractic office that can help you prevent frozen shoulder from happening. Or treating your current frozen shoulder. One of the most common things that people forget about when dealing with frozen shoulder is the flexibility of the thoracic spine and neck. Since stiffness in these areas can affect your shoulder function and nerve supply, Chiropractic can definitely help with speeding up your results from frozen shoulder.

Let us know down below if you have any questions about a frozen shoulder or whether you’re a candidate for chiropractic care.

Here is the video down below of Dr Andrew speaking about the frozen shoulder in more depth