Some injuries and conditions are well known in popular culture, whether an individual has suffered from them personally or knows someone who has. For example, most people will tell you they know someone who has talked about their tennis elbow or arthritis. Other conditions escape our attention and can catch us by surprise when they show up.
One example of a lesser-known injury is called a frozen shoulder. If you have never heard of it, that is okay because we are going to discuss what a frozen shoulder is, how it is caused, common risk factors, and the general healing process so you can feel more informed about this non-permanent but serious condition.
What Is Frozen Shoulder?
The technical term for a frozen shoulder is adhesive capsulitis, which shows up as pain and stiffness in the shoulder joint. The condition begins slowly, gradually grows worse, and then recedes. Overall, a frozen shoulder can last anywhere between one and three years on average.
What Causes Frozen Shoulder?
A frozen shoulder means you have limited mobility of your shoulder and pain when you try to move it. Connective tissues surround the shoulder joint and give a wide range of motion. Movement becomes restricted when those connective tissues thicken and tighten around the joint.
It is not always clear why this condition happens to some people, but it is more likely to occur after keeping a shoulder still for a long stretch of time. Anyone who has undergone surgery that required keeping the arm still, or individuals healing from an arm fracture, are more likely to develop a frozen shoulder.
Women over the age of forty are also at higher risk for developing frozen shoulder without clear causation. Perimenopause can be a factor. Certain diseases are also linked to frozen shoulder, including:
- Diabetes
- Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
- Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
- Cardiovascular disease
- Parkinson’s disease
Suffering from a frozen shoulder? Here are the top massage therapy treatments to provide relief, along with important facts you need to know about the condition.
How to Prevent Frozen Shoulder
The best prevention is to maintain joint mobility. Individuals who have had surgery, arm fractures, or other scenarios that require reduced arm movement can help prevent a frozen shoulder by maintaining regular shoulder exercises and stretching where possible.
How to Heal Frozen Shoulder
Healing a frozen shoulder requires patience and professional attention. Recovery can include massage treatments, physiotherapy, acupuncture, and at-home activities. Each individual is unique, so the ideal treatment plan varies. Here are key ways to progress toward healing.
Best Massage Treatments for Frozen Shoulder
The key to treating a frozen shoulder is to encourage movement of the shoulder and the surrounding muscles and tissues. Even if this is uncomfortable at the start, it is important to retrain the body to regain range of motion. The following massage therapies can help speed up recovery.
Myofascial Release
Myofascial release therapy targets the myofascial tissues that connect muscles throughout the body. Our Registered Massage Therapists will work tissues gently to release tension and increase flexibility. This helps alleviate stiffness and pain, which is beneficial for anyone with a frozen shoulder.
Myofascial Cupping
Myofascial cupping uses the ancient tradition of cupping to relieve tension and reduce adhesions in the myofascial tissues. This can break up deep muscle tension and support myofascial tissue, resulting in faster healing and pain relief. Combining myofascial release with cupping is an effective strategy for a frozen shoulder.
Trigger-Point Therapy
Trigger-point therapy treats muscle and tissue points that trigger tension in the shoulder. Gentle pressure helps loosen surrounding muscles and improves range of motion. We recommend trigger-point therapy for clients with reduced mobility, chronic muscle pain, arthritis, and fibromyalgia, as well as frozen shoulder.
Manual Osteopathy
Manual osteopathy helps strengthen joints, muscles, and the spine with gentle hands-on techniques. Combining manual osteopathy with massage therapy or trigger-point therapy can be more effective for reducing tension, pain, and limited mobility.
Red Light Therapy
A red light therapy session is another way to enhance massage treatment. We recommend our PBM red light therapy for clients who experience muscle tension, joint pain, stress and anxiety, and inflammation.
Many clients book red light therapy before a massage appointment for both the health benefits and skin benefits, such as reducing visible signs of aging.
Other Treatment Options to Manage Your Frozen Shoulder
Massage therapy is an essential component of your healing journey for loosening muscles, surrounding tissues, and joint range of motion. In addition to massage, other health and wellness treatments can help you regain mobility at home or with a specialist.
Visiting a physiotherapist or an acupuncturist, and doing at-home stretches to loosen the shoulder and surrounding tissues, can all help speed up healing.
Summary: What You Should Know About a Frozen Shoulder
Keep these points in mind:
- Frozen shoulder is not a permanent condition.
- Range-of-motion treatment and exercise help prevent and heal a frozen shoulder.
- Women over forty and post-surgery patients are at higher risk.
- Frozen shoulder can last between one and three years, depending on treatment.
Massage for Frozen Shoulder in St. Albert
Are you suffering from a frozen shoulder? Start healing by booking an appointment with one of our experienced practitioners in St. Albert.
