Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition where the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint becomes inflamed, thickened and tight. It causes pain and a progressive loss of movement, and it is one of the few musculoskeletal conditions that moves through recognisable stages — which is why treatment that ignores the stage often makes things worse.
The stages matter more than anything else
In the freezing stage, pain dominates and movement is reducing; aggressive stretching here typically increases pain and achieves nothing. In the frozen stage the pain often eases but stiffness is at its worst, and this is where sustained mobilisation work earns its place. In the thawing stage movement gradually returns and the focus shifts to restoring full range and strength.
Your physiotherapist establishes which stage you are in at assessment and matches treatment to it. This is the single most common reason people arrive having made no progress elsewhere — the right exercise for one phase is the wrong exercise for another.
What treatment involves
Depending on stage: hands-on joint mobilisation to restore glide in the capsule, soft-tissue work for the muscles that have tightened in compensation, a home programme calibrated to what the shoulder will currently tolerate, and pain-management modalities where they help you engage with the exercise. Treatment is reviewed as you move between stages rather than being set once.
Working with your doctor
Frozen shoulder is sometimes managed alongside medical treatment such as injection, and it is more common in people with diabetes or thyroid conditions. If you have not had the shoulder assessed medically, or if your diabetes is not well controlled, we would encourage you to see your doctor as well as starting physiotherapy.
Booking an assessment
Available across all APARC centres, within orthopaedic physiotherapy, often alongside manual therapy. Further reading: how physiotherapy helps frozen shoulder. Call +91 98189 11195.