_edited.jpg)
A Frozen Shoulder Can Be Fixed Fast - Myth Or Truth
- chelsie462
- 5 hours ago
- 7 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in October 2024. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZFlL05sLo
Mike: Today, we are talking about frozen shoulder. Now, Brad, what's the other name for frozen shoulder?
Brad: Adhesive capsulitis.
Mike: And typically, with this type of problem you are having, it takes quite a while to actually heal up. It involves your shoulder joint itself, and typically, it may be a little painful or hard to move early on, but it gets worse and worse with time.
Brad: As a matter of fact, it may take a few months for it to slowly freeze or get stiff, and then at a certain point it will level off, and it may stay at that point for months, and then they call it an unthawing stage as it gradually improves, so you can get back to the normal range of motion. It's rather interesting.
Mike: Now, according to the Mayo Clinic, this is a three-stage process. The first stage is called the freezing stage. And this can last anywhere from two to nine months.
Brad: That's right.
Mike: And then we have the frozen stage, which is stage number two. This can last four to 12 months. And last is the thawing stage, which can last five months to two years. Now, this whole process really varies between each individual, and it can take one to three years to get better.
Brad: Right, so it's really not understood what causes it, what makes it get better, or if it can get better faster. That's the myth, and that's what we're going to talk about. Some exercises, as therapists, we will let you know in just a bit. But let's talk a little bit more about some details of the disease.
Mike: So it can take time to recover from this, like we mentioned, obviously with the time span there, and some things that can affect this individually are the severity of the condition. Some people get a really mild frozen shoulder, and some people have a much more severe case. What's the next thing, Brad?
Brad: Age and overall health. How healthy you are, how active you may be, may make a difference as well.
Mike: Another thing that can play a factor is how well you adhere to your treatment plan. We're going to go through a little bit later what we suggest doing if you have this issue.
Brad: Right, other underlying conditions, whether you're diabetic, previous broken arm, or perhaps a surgery.
Mike: Anything like a stroke, you know, if you have a side, you can't move as much, it could become frozen and painful. Or yes, like we mentioned, if you have surgery. A lot of times, if you've had shoulder surgery, you can't move it for six weeks to two months. So sometimes it can occur then. Now, some common treatment recommendations include range of motion exercises. So what that means is moving your shoulder within the range you can comfortably do. And we're going to show some options later with that. What are some other things they can try, Brad?
Brad: Well, the injections, the corticosteroid steroids, numbing injections to help break up the scar tissue and the adhesions, are there to get more range of motion. And not very often, but sometimes, surgery.
Mike: Yes, they'll do it to try to loosen up the joint capsule in there, but it's not very common because most of the time, frozen shoulder eventually fixes itself. So I think we could say the myth is busted. Can a frozen shoulder heal? Yes. Does it heal fast? No.
Brad: So, as therapists, we will work with people to help the final phase speed up. We don't know for sure if we're making it go faster, but we know that we can track it. And it's one of those things that if you have a frozen shoulder, you want to do anything possible to get it better faster. And these are the options. So we are going to show you two easy, simple treatment programs to break up that adhesion. Get your shoulder to the maximum range of motion possible. You can do these easily at home, either with a stick or a pulley system. Either one, you could use the pulley system, which you can get very cheaply. Stick, you can use a broomstick, a piece of dolling, whatever it may be. Should we start with a stick?
Mike: You can start with a stick. I guess I'll fix up the pullies.
Brad: All right, so you take a stick, it should be about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. We're using the Booyah Stik. They work really well because your hand does not slide on them, but whatever. Do that, get your arm up. If your shoulder's tight at this point, you may go up a little bit with the good hand, hold tight, and then we simply bow to the stick.
Brad: There you go. And right there it's pulling, pulling, pulling. You get a lot of leverage 'cause you got your body weight, and you simply bring your hips down and bow. You get a really nice stretch there. You may stretch and hold it 15 to 30 seconds, or you may do pressure on, pressure off. You can put the other hand up here to assist. And it works quite well, actually. And you simply put a mark on the stick, and then you can tell how far you've gone after a couple of weeks. So maybe you started down here, and maybe a week or two or three or four later, you're up to higher. Now, pulleys have probably been around the longest that we've used. It's an excellent option. Mike, talk about that.
Mike: So what you're going to do is use your good arm pulling down to help your frozen shoulders. So we'll say my left side is frozen. Just go to what you can comfortably. If you're stuck here and it's painful, just go there, hold it for a little bit, then go back down. You can do this for repetitions or times. Just try to hold it at that top stretching point. And over time, during the thawing phase, it should get better, and you can get it higher and higher up.
Mike: You can also try going out to the side to get a different motion. Oftentimes, people may be a little more limited going out to the side versus in front of them. So just take it slow and easy.
Mike: Pulleys are relatively inexpensive. You don't even have to have the big metal aspect we have in ours. Some of them can just wedge right into a door, and they can be relatively cheap.
Brad: Yeah, actually, we have one, I think actually two videos, Bob and Brad on how to make your own pulley system, because you know Google Bob and Brad, how to make your own pulley system. And there you go. The other thing I would want to mention about the stick that I do like is that you can also go out to the side, just like you can with the pulley. So that option's available. This is my good hand's frozen shoulder. We can work in that direction.
Brad: And this is one of my favorite moves, is going extension. Although that is usually not too limited, this is going to help get it that way. So you can actually get three planes, flexion, abduction, and extension with the stick. And the stick, you probably won't have to even buy one.
Mike: If you want to check out more videos on frozen shoulder stretches and exercises specifically, watch the video, "Frozen Shoulder Stretches & Exercises."
Brad: There you go, frozen shoulder stretches and exercises, very good. If you have frozen shoulder, good luck with it, and work with it well.
For this week’s Giveaway, visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways
Bob and Brad’s Products
Pain Management:
Fitness:
Stretching:
Check out our shirts, mugs, bags, and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop
Medical Disclaimer: All information, content, and material on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced to help you make the best choice for you.
