Frozen Shoulder

From PubMed, a governmental website open to the public : "Adhesive capsulitis, also termed "frozen shoulder," is controversial by definition and diagnostic criteria that are not sufficiently understood.

          ---Department of Orthopedic Rehabilitation, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.

The term "frozen shoulder" is most usually given to a condition wherein the patient is unable to move an arm though a full range of motion in one or more directions without severe pain.   Everyday activites such as fastening clothing in the back, passing objects from in front to behind, reaching down items from a shelf above are excruciatingly painful, or just not possible.

The physical condition is said to be one of adhesion of fascia in the area of the rotator cuff, fascia being the tissue that infuses and surrounds muscle fibers.  In other words, muscle segments become literally stuck together, so that an attempt at movement is powerfully resisted, thus brings pain.  We have found that not only adhesion but the state of fascia is vital, and must be addressed (see "phase-change" in the Dobkin article behind the BOWEN THERAPY button).  Beyond that, there is a set of overlaid patterns of movement that resides in the system (brain, nerves, fascial network, muscle fibers) that must be addressed also.

The usual medical treatments are one of the following:

1.  A team of medical personnel hold the patient's trunk stable while violently yanking the arm, thus separating the mucles from their adhesion.  There is approximately one  year of recovery, including physical therapy.
2. Surgery, which separates the fascial tissue by scalpel and other instruments.  Recovery time and procedure are similar to the above.

We address frozen shoulder with all of the tools at our disposal, (and it usually takes them all), in a process of peeling multiple layers of mis-direction of active tissue movements away to restore proper sequencing.  Most of these processes are described elsewhere in the website, with the exception perhaps of Ortho-BionomyŠ, which might be described as moving the body in a specific direction, observing/feeling/assessing the result, then moving the body part in the direction it wants to go.

This treatment can be lengthy, but it works. We have, for example two clients who are middle-aged adult men who came to us for help.  One wanted to get back to throwing a football around with his wife (yes, that's what they like to do), another who was really eager to return to playing tennis, an activity he sorely missed.  Both are indeed doing what they came to us wanting to do.  The latter's story is currently on the site.  We'll add the other as time permits.

 See "No More Frozen Shoulder for Tennis Player"  to read an example of our treatment and its outcome, written by one of our clients.