| The most frustrating problem I encounter when | | | | painful shoulder, neck, etc... then everyday, no, several |
| treating a patient with frozen shoulder is apathy. When | | | | times a day she "tests" that injury to see if it still hurts. |
| the patient arrives for their first therapy session they | | | | For instance if reaching overhead pinches or hurts her |
| are usually in desperation mode because of the | | | | shoulder, she will repeat this movement throughout the |
| sleepless nights they have encountered over the past | | | | day to see if "it's getting any better". The point of all of |
| 6 months due to shoulder stiffness and pain. They are | | | | this is to emphasize that if you happen to be a type |
| willing to do just about anything short of cutting off their | | | | "A" personality, then bulling your way through the day |
| arm to get rid of the pain and return function... at least | | | | using your painful shoulder is not the answer. |
| that's what they say to my face during this all | | | | This is not to say that you will not feel pain throughout |
| important first visit. "What's the best frozen shoulder | | | | the day during specific frozen shoulder exercise, |
| exercise?" is usually one of the first questions I get, | | | | because you definitely will. The important concept here |
| and the patient's apathetic expressions begins when I | | | | is to realize the difference between "damaging" pain |
| begin explaining that frozen shoulder treatment | | | | and "non-damaging" pain. Now I can go into a whole |
| consists of a combination of exercise and rest, | | | | section on the difference between the two (which is |
| performed in multiple but brief sessions throughout the | | | | out of the scope of this article), but basically |
| day. "Do you think going to a chiropractor would help | | | | "damaging" pain is pain you feel when, obviously, |
| me more?" has been another question on more than | | | | damage is being done to soft tissue, ligament, or bone. |
| one occasion. "Not necessarily, sir" is the reply followed | | | | Damaging pain is often described with words such as |
| by "their are many techniques to treating your stiff | | | | "sharp", "tearing", "nerve pain", and "shooting". Most |
| shoulder, most of which are pretty good, but the | | | | people automatically stop when encountering |
| important thing is that you are somewhere taking | | | | damaging pain (although some low-pain-threshold |
| action". | | | | people will push through damaging pain). |
| Now I'm not trying to sound like a "self-help" guru, but | | | | By contrast, non-damaging pain is is pain felt due to |
| taking daily action is the absolute crucial first step | | | | shortened muscles, ligaments, soft tissue, connective |
| someone with frozen shoulder can do to help speed | | | | tissue, or tendons and is often described with words |
| recovery. Despite popular belief, just resting the | | | | such as "achy", "dull", "pulling", and "pressure". Certainly |
| shoulder only makes it more stiff and painful when you | | | | there are many more words to describe these two |
| have to move it. | | | | types of pain, but these are the ones I have |
| Now the next most important step is to avoid making it | | | | encountered over thousands of patient visits over the |
| worse. Now as I just wrote the previous line, I can | | | | years. The point of all of this is that if you do exercise |
| almost here the sarcasm laden reply of thousands of | | | | and do not push through non-damaging pain with |
| web surfers as they say "ya think?" However this is | | | | frozen shoulder exercise, you WILL NOT improve your |
| not as obviously simple as it seems. You see, in the | | | | chances of recovery. A trained physical therapist can |
| world of injuries and recovery, my wife is known as a | | | | help give you the best combination of frozen shoulder |
| "tester". If she happens to have an injury such as a | | | | exercise to maximize your recovery. |