Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis) – Understanding the Condition & Treatment Options

Frozen shoulder is a painful condition that causes stiffness and a significant loss of movement in the shoulder joint. It develops when the capsule surrounding the shoulder becomes inflamed and tight, making even simple daily activities difficult.

What is Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder occurs when the shoulder capsule becomes inflamed and thickened, leading to pain and restricted movement. It is more common in diabetics. On average a frozen shoulder can take 12-18 months to fully recover.

Common Symptoms of Frozen Shoulder

Patients commonly experience:

• Pain when lifting the arm

• Difficulty reaching overhead

• Night pain when lying on the shoulder

• Progressive stiffness and reduced mobility

Stretching & Rehabilitation Exercises

Early stretching and rehabilitation are extremely important in helping restore movement and reduce stiffness over time. You can follow my you tube channel for usefl exercises to help with frozen shoulder: Treatment for Frozen Shoulder #physiotherapist #frozenshoulder #frozenshouldertreatment

Injection Therapy for Frozen Shoulder

At Elite Joint Solutions, we inject a combination of steroid and anaesthetic directly into the shoulder joint. This provides three main benefits:

1. The steroid acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory, reducing inflammation in the capsule and easing pain.

2. The anaesthetic helps calm down irritated nerves, providing more immediate pain relief.

3. We use a larger volume injection, which helps to gently stretch the joint capsule and break down tight tissue bonds, improving both pain and movement.

In most cases, one injection is enough to bring the pain under good control and allow you to continue with your exercises while the shoulder heals. In some cases, however, a second injection may be needed for optimal relief.

If injection therapy is performed in the early stages of treatment (generally less than 8 weeks since the onset of symptoms) data shows that this can limit the length of a frozen shoulder.

Recovery & Returning to Normal Activity

With the correct treatment plan, pain levels can improve significantly, allowing patients to return to daily activities and rehabilitation exercises more comfortably. If you would like to discuss your frozen shoulder in more detail please contact us: Contact | Elite Joint Solutions, Iron Acton, Yate, Bristol