Frozen Shoulder peaks and improves during a 1-3 year period

One thing which is sometimes more poorly understood is the prognosis, or time frame for recovery.  Unfortunately, true frozen shoulder cannot just be ‘massaged away’.  Whilst massage can offer some relief for sure, it is by no means the ‘ultimate’ way to solve the issue.  Having a clear time frame though on expected recovery can really help with the management of this condition.

A great study published in 2008 tracked the outcomes of 223 patients who had been diagnosed with Frozen Shoulder.  The results showed that the mean average of symptoms to recovery was 4.4 years (ranging from 2-20 years in some cases!)!  But importantly, at the mean follow up of 4.4 years, the patients within the study reported 59% with a near normal shoulder, 35% had mild/moderate symptoms and 6% had severe symptoms.

The study also noted that Frozen Shoulder peaks and improves during a 1-3 year period.

But why is this all relevant?  Well, understanding the true facts about your injury/pain is highly important in determining the outcome.  Sometimes patients see us after having unrealistic expectations set out for them and the risk with this is that patients are left frustrated at the deemed ‘lack of progress’ and opt for other more invasive treatments which are not necessarily any better than the original intervention.  This proves costly and can even lead to even worse outcomes.

The patients reported outcomes were far higher than they would have expected

I recently had a patient who came to see me after having 3 steroid injections for the shoulder.  They were seeing me due to a lack of progress from the injections and still having pain with reduced function.  After going through the case history, it was evident that the patient had only received the injection with no guidance whatsoever on how to best rehabilitate the shoulder to restore function and reduce their pain.

In this instance, we started off with trying to manage the pain by using soft tissue and joint mobilisation to calm the pain.  This also restored some functional movement as well which made day to day tasks much easier.  This then developed confidence in the programme I was giving as immediate change could be seen and we gave them the tools to be able to continue with this away from the clinic.

In this instance the rehabilitation was intense with a number of sessions booked over the duration of 12 weeks but the outcome was really positive at the end.  Whilst we had not restored full range and function, we had made a significant difference to the patient’s life and they were able to do so much more than before.  This was a great example of how combining a first line treatment (the steroid injection) with high quality physiotherapy care, can have a really positive outcome on the prognosis of this condition.

I would be confident in saying here that at the 6 month mark, the patients reported outcomes were far higher than they would have expected but it was mainly due to their dedication and application that they were able to achieve this.  I have no doubt in my mind also that if it were not for the educational part of our sessions, then their outcomes would not have been quite as good.  It was made explicitly clear that this process will be a long one and there will be set backs but ultimately your body will win and come out on top if you follow the simple principles of rehab that we use here at Bodylogics.

If you or anyone you know is suffering from shoulder pain then it is super important that they do not let it go untreated.  Seek professional help now and start a journey with a professional who knows what they are doing and are equipped to help you on the pathway to recovery.