Adhesive Capsulitis (aka Frozen Shoulder)

​Did you know that adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) can often be relieved, and often eliminated, with massage therapy? Most of the clients who present this condition on my table have had some sort of injury or rotator cuff surgery, and then are put into an arm sling and told not to move it, which often is the culprit to frozen shoulder. In some cases it is caused by a repetitive stress injury.

Frozen shoulder typically develops slowly in three stages.

• Freezing stage. Any movement of the shoulder causes pain, and the shoulder's ability to move becomes limited. This stage lasts from 2 to 9 months.
• Frozen stage. Pain might lessen during this stage. However, the shoulder becomes stiffer. Using it becomes more difficult. This stage lasts from 4 to 12 months.
• Thawing stage. The shoulder's ability to move begins to improve. This stage lasts from 5 to 24 months.

For some people, the pain worsens at night, sometimes disrupting sleep. (Mayo Clinic)

At any rate, working on the surrounding rotator cuff muscles, will bring much needed relief to the client.
Pec major is usually a culprit in this as well. If you come in to my office and present with this issue, I will be working all the muscles here, plus your pecs and maybe even serratus anterior (under the armpit on the side of the rib cage) and subscapularis.  Bottom line, you'll feel better after you have that shoulder worked on!