If you’re living with shoulder pain, you’re not alone. One report published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) claims that up to 26% of adults deal with some type of shoulder pain every year. One condition that may be causing your shoulder pain is frozen shoulder, but you may not know much about this issue or how a physical therapist in Las Cruces, New Mexico, can treat it.
What is frozen shoulder?
Before you start looking for frozen shoulder treatment in Las Cruces, it may help to know some basic information about this condition. Also called adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is a condition that commonly affects people recovering from a shoulder injury or shoulder surgery. Symptoms of adhesive capsulitis include difficulty moving the arm, joint stiffness and pain.
This condition tends to develop over time and has three basic stages. In the first stage, moving your shoulder begins to cause you pain. Since this stage is where you begin to have decreased range of motion, it’s also called the freezing stage. The second, or frozen stage, is reached when shoulder stiffness has reached its highest level. However, your shoulder pain may decrease during this stage. Finally, patients will go through a third, or thawing, stage, and this is when the range of motion in the shoulder begins to return.
How can a physical therapist treat frozen shoulder?
Before beginning your frozen shoulder treatment, a physical therapist will often perform a test using a goniometer. This device allows them to measure the range of motion of your shoulder, and this measurement can help them figure out what stage of frozen shoulder you’re in.
Las Cruces physical therapists will then bring together multiple therapy techniques into a treatment plan for your shoulder. For example, soft tissue mobilization may be used. This therapy method is designed to help reduce the tension in shoulder muscles, tendons and ligaments. Joint mobilization is a therapy that can be used to reduce the stiffness of the shoulder joint. Also, electrical stimulation may be used by your therapist because it’s designed to help reduce pain.
Check out Border Therapy Services in Las Cruces, NM, for frozen shoulder treatment
Our Border Therapy Services team in Las Cruces has helped patients with many shoulder issues. Our high level of experience and the many therapy methods at our disposal can be brought to bear on your frozen shoulder. Our team will perform a one-on-one evaluation to pinpoint how the condition is affecting your shoulder. We’ll then build you a personalized treatment plan that’s intended to offer benefits such as:
- Decreased pain
- Improved range of motion
- Increased shoulder stability
- Improved ability to do normal daily tasks
Take the next step to get our help treating your adhesive capsulitis. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an appointment.