Frozen shoulder is really painful and can restrict your whole lifestyle.

It happens when the capsule within the shoulder joint becomes tight and inflexible.  This can happen for all kinds of reasons from:

• jarring your shoulder, perhaps from a fall where you’ve put your hand out to take the impact
• after having the arm in a sling following a fracture or surgery for too long
• from the strain caused by forward head/neck posture
• or just simply overuse and repetitive strain

The cure is simply to wait for the motion to return which can take up to 2 years!! The problem is that the longer you have reduced mobility, the weaker the surrounding soft tissues supporting the joint will become.  Treatment by a clinical massage therapist keeps the soft tissues healthy, aids recovery and makes movement possible as the frozen shoulder “thaws”.

One of my clients had fallen in her workplace and severely jarred her shoulder causing this condition.  She couldn’t raise her arm, reach behind to fasten her bra or back to pull her seatbelt into place without pain and discomfort.

This is typical of frozen shoulder; the movements that involve rolling the joint forwards or backwards or lifting the arm upwards are stiff and painful because there is less room for movement within the inflamed capsule.

My client needed help and, because it was a severe problem, this meant a treatment every couple of weeks to start with, reducing to a monthly session as gradually movement became comfortable.

This particular client also had a spinal problem as a result of a childhood injury and her spine curved slightly (scoliosis) towards the side she had the frozen shoulder.  She was aware of the scoliosis and the effect it had on her posture, but was delighted that the gentle myofascial techniques also had the beneficial effect of starting to realign her spine.

Of course, this isn’t a quick fix and further realignment will take time, but it does demonstrate the power of clinical massage therapy when used properly.

For more information call 07775633798