What is Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)? Frozen Shoulder can be broken down into 4 stages:
Stage 1: “PreFreezing”
You’ve had symptoms for 1 to 3 months, and they’re getting worse. Movement of the shoulder causes pain. It usually aches when you’re not using it, but the pain increases and becomes “sharp” with movement. You’ll begin to limit shoulder motion during this period and protect the shoulder by using it less. The movement loss is most noticeable in when you rotate your arm away from your body, or you might start to lose motion when you raise your arm or reach behind your back. Pain is the hallmark feature of this stage; you may experience pain during the day and at night.
Stage 2: “Freezing”
By this stage, you’ve had symptoms for 3 to 9 months, most likely with a progressive loss of shoulder movement and an increase in pain (especially at night). The shoulder still has some range of movement, but it is limited by both pain and stiffness.
Stage 3: “Frozen”
Your symptoms have persisted for 9 to 14 months, and you have a greatly decreased range of shoulder movement. During the early part of this stage, there is still a substantial amount of pain. Toward the end of this stage, however, pain decreases, with the pain usually occurring only when you move your shoulder as far you can move it.
Stage 4: “Thawing”
You’ve had symptoms for 12 to 15 months, and there is a big decrease in pain, especially at night. You still have a limited range of movement, but your ability to complete your daily activities involving overhead motion is improving at a rapid rate.
***Contact your physician to refer you to physical therapy for a full evaluation as soon as symptoms begin for immediate attention and a quicker recovery!***
This information and more about Frozen Shoulder found at:
http://www.moveforwardpt.com/SymptomsConditionsDetail.aspx?cid=00661806-1fa0-4fc0-ba17-ea32751d7412
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Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)
Adhesive capsulitis is the stiffening of the shoulder due to scar tissue, which results in painful movement and loss of motion.
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