Frozen Shoulder

[Nicoke<3]

has anyone helped release a frozen shoulder with trigger point therapy? Any suggestions to relieve this awful pain? I am open for any suggestions.

 

[Probie]

Frozen shoulder could be the joint capsule or calcification in or around the joint. Meaning non contractile tissues normally. It just means joint pain keeps the shoulder from full range of motion. Therefore NMT will release muscle spasm around the joint, temporarily ease pain but not address the real problem. It will be a long rehab, needs proper diagnosis and needs more than massage to improve. But to answer your question any technique that will release pressure across the joint and rehydrate the area will help. ASSUMING THIS IS DIAGNOSED FROZEN SHOULDER. Assuming its not too inflamed to work on as well.

I am not saying to do this :shock: ... I am mearly posting pertinant information from Whitney Lowes Orthopedic Assessment in Massage Therapy. 8)

FROZEN SHOULDER & ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS
The term frozen shoulder is used to refer to a set of symptoms
in the shoulder involving pain and limited motion
at the glenohumeral joint. Frozen shoulder is commonly
used interchangeably with adhesiae capsulitis. However,
adhesive capsulitis refers to a discrete clinical pathology,
whereas frozen shoulder refers to a variety of pathologies.
The pathologies that may be involved in frozen shoulder
include not only adhesive capsulitis, but subacromial bursitis,
calcific tendinitis, rotator cuff pathology, and other
conditions limiting shoulder motion. Primarily, frozen
shoulder describes a functional limitation in range of
motion associated with pain and stiffness. With improved
diagnostics, the use of this term eventually may be abandoned
for more accurate references.

Regardless of whether the condition is primary or secondary
frozen shoulder, the affected inert tissues need
to be lengthened and their mobility enhanced.Massage
can play a role in addressing soft-tissue restrictions, but is
most effective when used in conjunction with other treatment
methods such as ultrasound, which heats the deep
capsular tissues and makes them more pliable.
Residual hypertonicity in muscles around the glenohumeral
joint can be addressed with a variety of gliding,
stripping, and static compression techniques. Stretching
and movement should be encouraged in the direction
of the motion restriction (abduction and lateral rotation).
These motions must be done slowly and gradually.
Stretching should be held just short of the pain or restriction
barrier to encourage gradual tissue lengthening.
Range-of-motion improvement is more effective when
repeated regularly and it is essential for the client to perform
some of these motions frequently on their own.
If conservative treatment is unsuccessful, surgery or joint
manipulation under anesthesia may be performed by a
physician in order to free the bound structures.

 

[Robert B]

Be certain the client has had a physician or PT look at it to rule out other possibilities.

That said, I've used Trigger Point therapy to treat frozen shoulder successfully. PTs I know have said that frozen shoulder may take 1-2 years of therapy to fully recover, and one of my clients made the journey in just 9 months. That client was also seeing a PT and doing some simple stretches and exercises.

There is a good text called The Frozen Shoulder Workbook by Claire Davies that is worth a good read.

 

[rachel90d]

frozen shoulder

I have been diagnosed with frozen shoulder with arthritis and a bone spur. I do have the book you mentioned and it has been such a blessing to help with the pain. I'm seeing a HUGE improvement, just wondered if there were any other exercises I could do along with those mentioned in the book. I do not want to go the surgery route as my surgeon suggests. There are too many other roads to take holistically. Thank you so much for your replies.

 

[AALIA-NAF]

Impossible to make specific recommendations based on an internet conversation. Work with your PT and bodyworker to overcome the challenges of your situation.