Frozen Shoulder

Frozen Shoulder Syndrome: Understanding the Cause & Restoring Mobility Naturally

Frozen Shoulder Syndrome—also known as Adhesive Capsulitis—is a painful and often debilitating condition that severely limits shoulder movement. For many, even simple tasks like reaching for a seatbelt or lifting a grocery bag can become excruciating.

Without effective treatment, frozen shoulder can linger anywhere from 10 months to over 3 years. But the good news is—there’s a better path to healing.

What Is Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulder is a condition where the glenohumeral joint capsule—the connective tissue that surrounds the shoulder joint—becomes inflamed and stiff. As the condition progresses, folds of the capsule stick together, forming adhesionsthat restrict movement and create significant pain.

In addition, there’s often a reduction in synovial fluid, which normally lubricates the joint. Without this fluid, movement becomes even more limited and painful.

Common Symptoms

Frozen shoulder typically develops gradually and progresses through three distinct stages:

  1. Freezing Stage – Pain gradually increases, and range of motion begins to decline.

  2. Frozen Stage – Pain may lessen, but stiffness becomes more pronounced.

  3. Thawing Stage – Range of motion begins to improve slowly over time.

Other key symptoms include:

  • Difficulty sleeping due to shoulder pain

  • Sharp or aching pain with shoulder movement

  • Limited ability to raise the arm or rotate it outward

  • Trouble performing daily tasks like dressing or reaching

Most often, this condition affects adults between the ages of 40 and 60.

Traditional Treatments

Conservative treatments for frozen shoulder may include:

  • NSAIDs to reduce inflammation

  • Physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the joint

  • Massage therapy or acupuncture for pain relief

  • More aggressive interventions such as corticosteroid injections, joint capsule hydrodilation, or manipulation under anesthesia

These approaches may offer relief—but they often focus only on the symptoms, not the root cause.

The Hidden Causes: Why Biomechanics Matter

The exact cause of frozen shoulder isn’t always clear. Some cases are linked to trauma, repetitive use, or autoimmune responses. But what we do know is that shoulder immobility or muscular imbalance often precedes the condition.

From a Neurosomatic Therapy (NST) perspective, the shoulder rarely functions in isolation. Dysfunction in other parts of the body—particularly the pelvis and spine—can directly impact how the shoulder moves.

Here’s how:

  • Poor gait mechanics (how we walk) can create stress in the shoulder

  • Pelvic imbalances cause the arms to swing across the body instead of in a natural forward-back motion

  • This creates irritation and inflammation in the shoulder over time

  • 18 muscles control the shoulder—if even a few fall out of sync, chronic restriction and pain can follow

Without addressing these full-body patterns, the shoulder remains vulnerable to recurring inflammation and dysfunction.

The Neurosomatic Approach to Frozen Shoulder

At our clinic, we take a comprehensive approach to treating frozen shoulder by focusing on postural balance and soft tissue health. Here’s what that looks like:

  • Full-body postural assessment to identify imbalances that contribute to shoulder restriction

  • Manual therapy to release adhesions and restore mobility in the joint capsule

  • Targeted muscle work to correct the mechanics of the shoulder girdle

  • Functional movement retraining to bring balance and symmetry back to the entire body

Many patients experience rapid improvement in pain and range of motion, allowing them to return to normal activities far sooner than expected.

Start Moving Freely Again

If you’ve been living with a stiff, painful shoulder—or you’ve been told to “wait it out”—Neurosomatic Therapy offers a more effective path forward.

By treating the root cause, not just the symptoms, we help your body restore function, movement, and comfort—naturally.

Call us today to speak with one of our expert therapists and learn how we can help you heal from Frozen Shoulder Syndrome.

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