Frozen shoulder is the condition where there is pain and restriction of shoulder movement. The cause is unexplained. It is usually predominant in females, middle age and diabetics.
It goes through stages but the time periods associated with each stage is not set in concrete. The stages are: painful stage, frozen stage (movement stiffness) and thawing stage where there is a return of movement.
Physiotherapy could help in each of these stages, however it does not get rid of a true frozen shoulder. Hence 10 steps to get rid of frozen shoulder would be a myth!
Pain relief with gentle mobilization, soft tissue techniques and electrotherapy can have some symptomatic relief. The frozen stage is hard to deal with in terms of liberty of the shoulder movement. The best effect will be in the thawing stage where there is already a reversal of stiffness and pain. Joint mobilization, muscle releases and home exercising are useful in this stage.
Shoulder pain and restriction as a result of cervical (neck), thoracic (upper back) and lumbar spine restrictions are not frozen shoulder. These have good results and have quicker resolutions. Differential diagnosis is therefore very important in the treatment of frozen shoulder.