This shoulder is so frozen...

This shoulder is so frozen, it's singing Let It Go!

Frozen shoulder, also know as adhesive capsulitis is mainly characterized as stiffness or pain in the shoulder joint. This is most often caused by a shoulder injury, tissue scarring, and shrinkage of the shoulder capsule. An old teacher of mine used to say," The body is very smart, however, the body is very dumb." This dysfunction is the perfect example of that statement. 

When you experience a shoulder injury, or any injury really, you body goes into a protection mode. It brings the injured part of your body towards your center, to provide protection from it getting hurt again. Notice, all the players below are pulling their arms, or legs in close to their chest. 

However, the normal response once it is healed is to let that body part return to normal positioning. Your body is also dumb though, and much like an over protective parent, it tries to keep that body part from getting hurt by holding it close to their body. This can cause stiffness and immobility in the joint. Over long periods of time, this becomes the arms natural position. The bad part about this is the shoulder loses the ability to move as it is built to.The shoulder capsule then becomes less of a joint, and more of a cast meant to hold the arm in place.


All hope is not yet lost though, as there are ways to make your body act like it's smart self again! Here are some of my favorite tips for frozen shoulder!

Tip 1: Keep it moving!
The biggest part about recovery from frozen shoulder is to keep the shoulder moving. In the late stages of frozen shoulder, it is hard to move at all, but small stretching movements can slowly loosen up the shoulder capsule. The stretches and exercises below are ones that I use on many clients as a daily routine. Always remember, don't push it too far. The trick is slowly stretching, not forced dislocation!


Tip 2: Massage
Massage therapy can help frozen shoulder by facilitating stretching and movement in deeper muscles that can't always be stretched by yourself. It also helps your muscles relax and let go, which will help loosen up the shoulder capsule.

Tip 3: Don't baby it!
If you ever find yourself holding your arm to your chest for no reason, make sure to consciously let it fall back to it's natural position. It is important that you retrain your body where your arm is supposed to go.

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