Important: The information below may give you the direction that you need to finally get your Frozen Shoulder fixed!

What are the causes of a Frozen Shoulder (Adhesive Capsulitis)?

A frozen shoulder is caused by inflammation that occurs in and around the shoulder joint lining (shoulder capsule). The inflammation that starts your frozen shoulder can be caused by trauma or injury to the shoulder, while other times there is no known cause of the inflammation. As the inflammation progresses in the shoulder, it promotes a contracting and tightening of the shoulder capsule.

Most Frozen shoulders occur in patients between the ages of 40 to 60 yrs old. They occur more often in women than in men. Some diseases can increase your chance of getting a frozen shoulder. For example, between 10 to 20 percent of diabetics will suffer with a frozen shoulder.

The natural history of frozen shoulder can be divided into 3 different phases. These phases are called the freezing, frozen, and thawing phases.

Phase 1 - Freezing

During this phase the inflammatory process is active. The shoulder is often quite painful during this phase. As this phase progresses the shoulder becomes stiffer and stiffer until the shoulder is difficult to move both actively and passively. This phase can last between 2 and 8 months.

Phase 2 - Frozen

Eventually the inflammation dies down and the stiffness becomes the prominent feature of the shoulder. The stiffness makes it difficult for the person to use their affected arm for many of the daily activities. Pain will often continue in this phase, but usually not as strong as is was in the freezing phase. The frozen phase can last from 4 to 12 months.

Phase 3 – Thawing

During this phase the shoulder will gradually begin to resolve as the stiffness of the shoulder slowly decreases. This phase can last somewhere between 4 and 12 months. After the thawing phase it is not uncommon for the person to still have stiffness and symptoms present in the shoulder. In fact, in a study that followed 62 people suffering with frozen shoulder for an average of 7 years, half still had symptoms related to their frozen shoulder (Shaffer 1992).

Frozen Shoulder Treatment

If you suffer with a frozen shoulder, you know the pain, stiffeness and disability that this condition creates.

Many are told to take steroids, try physical therapy, and sometimes even surgery! Sometimes doctors will tell their patients to wait it out and it will get better on its own. It is very likely that these doctors have never suffered with this condition. If they had, they would understand just how debilitating this condition can be. Also, the facts show that after 5 years 70 % of those suffering with a frozen shoulder will still continue to experience some pain and stiffness in their shoulder.

What makes our treatment different?

We use the Neil-Asher technique and Trigenics® to help those who have suffered with this miserable condition. These two techniques have helped us to get quite good results in our treatment of a frozen shoulder.

Unlike physical therapy, where the method of treatment involves stretching and forcing the shoulder into the painful and restricted ranges of motion, our work is a hands on type of treatment that alters deep-seated reflexes, thus retraining the brain to change the function of the shoulder. This allows the patient to move more freely, and also stop the pain.

Testimonials:

"Although I have always been very health conscious and physically active, in my mid-fifties I began to lose the use of my right arm as my shoulder “froze up.” I could not even comb my hair. With Dr. Olson’s help, I now have regained full range of motion—truly a miracle in my life!"-- Janet T

"Last year I suddenly developed a very painful condition in my shoulder. I had no idea what had caused it and finally went to see my physician. The diagnosis was not clear and I was put on anti-infammatory medication, with the instruction that if the pain persisted I should go to physical therapy. In a short time the condition worsened to the point that I not only suffered from pain but also from limited range of motion in my arm. By now, the physical therapist was able to diagnose the problem, telling me that I had "frozen shoulder, "but after several months of treatment there was still no improvement. I was then advised to quit treatment and just wait for the inflammation to subside, which I was told could take as much as a year or even much longer. This was very discouraging as I was still in considerable pain and unable to perform daily functions such as raising my arm to comb my hair or reach behind my back to tie an apron string, etc. At this point, I learned of Dr. Olson and began immediately to go to weekly appointments with him. Over the course of about 15 appointments, my condition improved to the extent that my range of motion is now very close to normal and the pain is gone. Dr. Olson was knowledgeable and skilled in treating me. From the first, I felt that I was finally on the road to recovery. The treatments were somewhat uncomfortable, but certainly bearable, and because I could see that I was making substantial improvement, I actually looked forward to going each week. I have learned that this condition sometimes comes back in the other shoulder. I certainly hope that this will not happen, but if it does, I will be quick to go back to Dr. Olson. As far as I am concerned, he is a miracle worker!"-- Sharlene

Frequently asked questions about our Frozen Shoulder treatments

What makes your Frozen Shoulder treatments special?

We use the Neil-Asher technique and Trigenics® to help those who have suffered with this miserable condition. Unlike physical therapy, where the method of treatment involves manually forcing the shoulder in the the painful ranges of motion, our work is a hands on type of treatment that alters deep-seated reflexes, thus retraining the brain to change the function of the shoulder. This allows the patient to move more freely, and also stop the pain.

How soon will I see progress with my Frozen Shoulder treatment?

There should generally be improvement that can be measured on each visit. The amount of progress that each person gets each visit depends upon the condition of that person's shoulder. On average the shoulder requires from about 7 to 10 visits to regain most if not all the shoulder range of motion back.