Things to Remember When it comes to Frozen Shoulder:
Point #1 – Breathing
Breathing, linked with exercises, helps to relax the body and central nervous system, allowing the injured or tight area of the body to let go, especially when the body’s natural tendency is to guard and protect. As you go through the range of motion exercises, try to breathe with the movement. As you take big belly breaths, try to really focus on blowing out the tension in the muscles as you exhale.
Point #2 – Range of Motion Exercises
Frozen Shoulder can cause inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle. We lose activation, endurance and strength in these muscles, which leads to our shoulder's girdle not working properly. Therefore, we need to get our shoulders working. Here are the suggested exercises for Frozen Shoulder:
3 Best Exercises to Relieve Frozen Shoulder
#1 – Scapular Stabilization
Begin in a 4-point position with your hands under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. Focus some load through the hands and tighten your abdominal area. Shift your hips back to your feet, extending both arms forward. Relax your mid-back area for a light stretch. Return to the starting position and repeat the sequence of movements.
Scapular Stabilization
Start off with 1 set of 5 repetitions. Perform the exercise in a smooth controlled movement with a good stop at the end position. The intensity of this exercise is light. The purpose of this exercise is to improve range of motion in the shoulders.
Ideally, try to move slightly further without ripping through or pushing through that resistant point. Doing so will end up irritating the joint, leading to inflammation that can slow down recovery. Work in the range that you can do comfortably and keep pushing through the top range in increments.
#2 – Supine Spinal Twist
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place your arms at your sides. Contract your core and twist your lower body, dropping your knees to one side. Return to the starting position and repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Start off with 1 set of 5 repetitions. Perform the exercise in a smooth controlled movement with a good stop at the end position. The intensity of this exercise is light. The purpose of this exercise is to improve range of motion.
#3 – Seated Push-Up
Begin in an upright sitting position on the front of a chair or bed. Place your hands on the chair, slightly behind your seat. Straighten both arms out to lift your seat off the chair slightly. Bend your arms to lower your seat down to the starting position and repeat the movement.
Seated Push-Up
Give these 3 exercises a GO!
Start off doing these exercises once a day, then progress to doing them multiple times a day. The key thing to remember is that we do not want to irritate the shoulder and kick in that inflammatory response, slowing down your recovery. It may take a while to see your efforts or results, which can be frustrating. However, it is important to stay positive.
Point #3 – Joint mobilization
Research shows that joint mobilization helps in frozen shoulder recovery.
Point #4 – Cortisone injections
There are a couple of things you need to consider with Cortisone Injections. You are still going to need to do joint mobilization and exercises even if you get cortisone injections. Cortisone Injections can provide faster pain relief, but there are no long-term benefits. Cortisone Injections should only be considered as your last resort.
Online Question:
Question: “Would acupuncture help with frozen shoulder”
Answer: A quick answer is yes, but it depends on what you are looking for. If your goal is to decrease pain, acupuncture will help. It can also help improve range of motion. If your main concern is shoulder mobility, acupuncture can also help.
