Do you feel pain and stiffness in your shoulder when attempting to retrieve something from a high shelf or reaching across your body to fasten a seatbelt? You might be dealing with frozen shoulder. This condition tends to creep up slowly, making everyday tasks more difficult as your shoulder joint tightens.
Frozen shoulder is common, especially in people over 40, and it doesn’t always have an obvious cause. But once symptoms begin, they tend to stick around. Recognizing frozen shoulder symptoms early and starting the right treatment plan is the best way to speed up your recovery.
What is Frozen Shoulder?
Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition that limits movement in your shoulder joint. The capsule of connective tissue that surrounds the joint becomes inflamed and stiff. Over time, this tightens up the joint and severely restricts motion.
Frozen shoulder typically affects one shoulder at a time, although in some unlucky cases, both may be affected at once. Fortunately, this condition is treatable and often preventable.
What Causes Frozen Shoulder?
Here are the factors that increase the risk of frozen shoulder:
- Injury or surgery: After shoulder surgery or breaking your arm, you may need to avoid moving your shoulder for a while. However, wearing a sling for too long may cause the joint capsule to tighten up.
- Chronic conditions: People with diabetes, thyroid disorders, Parkinson’s disease, or cardiovascular disease are at higher risk.
- Age and gender: Frozen shoulder is most common in people between 40 and 60 years old. It also affects women more frequently than men.
Frozen Shoulder Symptoms
Frozen shoulder develops in four distinct stages, each with unique symptoms. Knowing which stage you’re in guides your treatment plan and helps you set reasonable expectations.
Stage 1: Pre-Freezing
In this phase, your shoulder feels off, but you’re not sure what’s wrong yet. You might assume you slept in a weird position or overdid it at the gym. But when the discomfort lingers for weeks, it becomes clear that it’s not just a passing soreness.
Symptoms of a pre-freezing shoulder:
- Mild to moderate pain with movement
- Slight stiffness
- Discomfort at night
Stage 2: Freezing
By now, you’re in active freezing mode. The pain increases, and your range of motion plummets. Tasks like brushing your hair or reaching behind you to grab a seatbelt may make you grit your teeth. The discomfort may last six weeks to nine months.
Symptoms of a freezing shoulder:
- Sharp or throbbing pain
- Severe stiffness
- Nighttime pain that disrupts sleep
- Reduced ability to lift or rotate the arm
Stage 3: Frozen
You can expect a slight reprieve from the pain during this stage, but your movement becomes highly restricted. Your shoulder may remain uncooperative for four to six months.
Symptoms of a frozen shoulder:
- Pain lessens but doesn’t disappear
- Limited movement persists
- The shoulder feels stuck or locked in place
Stage 4: Thawing
Finally, you start to see improvement as your mobility gradually returns. A frozen shoulder may take six months to two years to fully thaw, but you can speed things up with help from physical therapy or medical intervention.
Symptoms of a thawing shoulder:
- Range of motion begins to improve
- Discomfort fades
- Activities become easier
Frozen Shoulder Medical Treatment
No one wants to live with a shoulder that refuses to move for months on end. Fortunately, there are many ways to ease the pain and relieve stiffness. Some of the most common frozen shoulder treatment methods include:
- Oral medications: NSAIDs like ibuprofen and naproxen manage pain and swelling.
- Interventional pain management: Cortisone injections reduce inflammation and make physical therapy more effective. Other options like joint distension and hydrodilatation involve injecting sterile water into the joint capsule to stretch the tissue and improve mobility.
- Manipulation under anesthesia: For more severe cases, a doctor moves the shoulder joint through its full range of motion while the patient is under anesthesia. This helps break up adhesions and improve flexibility without causing pain during the procedure.
- Arthroscopic capsular release: In this minimally invasive surgery, small instruments are inserted through tiny incisions to cut through the tight, thickened joint capsule. This releases tension and restores mobility.
It’s important to match the treatment with the stage of your condition. In most cases, conservative options work best if started early.
Frozen Shoulder Exercises
Gentle movement is one of the best ways to ease stiffness and gradually restore shoulder mobility. Try these exercises at home with permission from your doctor or physical therapist:
- Pendulum swings: Lean forward with your unaffected arm supported on a table. Let the affected arm hang straight down and gently swing it in small circles, clockwise and counterclockwise. Do 30 seconds in each direction two to three times total.
- Finger wall walks: Stand facing a wall, arm’s length away. Use your fingers to “walk” your hand up the wall until you feel a light stretch, then walk back down. Repeat 10 to 15 times.
- Cross-body reach: Use your good arm to lift your affected arm across your chest until you feel a stretch in the shoulder. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat three to five times.
- Towel stretch: Hold a towel behind your back with one hand and grab the opposite end with your other hand. Gently pull to stretch the affected shoulder, either upward or downward. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds and repeat five to 10 times.
Let’s Thaw that Frozen Shoulder
Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics has been helping patients reduce shoulder pain and regain mobility since 1983. Our approach puts you first—you’ll leave your initial appointment with a clear, personalized action plan in mind so you know exactly what comes next. Our specialists work together to help you meet your treatment goals, whether that’s returning to your sport or just getting through the day without pain. When you’re ready to restore motion in your shoulder, please book an appointment in Carmel, Greenwood, Noblesville, or Tipton, IN.
