A Frozen Shoulder – Explained

Frozen Shoulder, Adhesive Capsulitis, Shoulder Pain



A Frozen Shoulder can develop spontaneously or as a result of trauma to the shoulder. The first thing you feel is sharp pain in the shoulder when moving the arm above your head. This is likely to be joined with disturbance to your sleep especially when lying on the painful side.

A Frozen Shoulder - Explained With the days moving to weeks, the pain levels tend to increase and you start to see that the movement from your shoulder reduces. As your shoulder becomes more painful, you move it less, it gets stiffer and so more painful. This vicious cycle perpetuates itself until you have a stiff and restricted shoulder.

This pattern of pain is caused when inflammation and adhesives occur between the lower folds of the shoulder capsule. The folds offer sufficient slack in the capsule to facilitate overhead movement of the arm. When adhered to one another, this movement is lost and at least very painful.

Left to their own devices, a frozen shoulder abates after about 18 months. This timeframe can be vastly reduced with the provision of Physio treatment and a bespoke home exercise program. The focus of the treatment is to gradually stretch the adhesions, slowly but surely increasing the movement of the shoulder.

If you think you have a frozen shoulder or would like to discuss how our Cardiff physios can help, please request a callback or give us a call.