What is going on
Adhesive capsulitis has a long, predictable course: a painful phase, a stiff phase, and a slow thaw that can run well past a year. Reaching behind your back or overhead becomes difficult, and night pain is common. It occurs more often in people with diabetes and after a period of immobilization.
How massage therapy is commonly used
Nothing hands-on shortens the condition's natural course. What treatment may do is reduce the pain of the surrounding muscles — which work overtime to compensate — and keep the neck, upper back and opposite shoulder from taking on the strain.
In the painful phase we work gently and stay well within your available range. In the thawing phase we work more actively alongside the exercises your physiotherapist has prescribed.
What to expect over a course of care
Patients commonly book every one to three weeks over several months, with the appointment length and pressure changing as the shoulder does. Progress is slow, and we are honest about that from the first visit.