Which Exercises are Best to Treat Frozen Shoulder?
A frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a painful condition that restricts movement of your shoulder. It occurs when the shoulder joint capsule turns stiff and thick. Inflammation also develops in the affected region. Furthermore, frozen shoulder can result from immobilisation as well as shoulder injuries.
In certain cases, the cause can be due to an underlying disease. To recover from it, you have to work on self-care activities and try exercises for frozen shoulder. Developing some healthy habits is another way to handle your painful shoulder. Keep reading on to learn about the best exercises for shoulder pain. Warm up your shoulders with a shower before beginning any exercise.
Exercises to Relieve Shoulder Pain
Pendulums stretch
Before trying any other exercises for shoulder pain, you must start with the pendulum stretch. It provides a relaxing feeling on your shoulder.
- Stand and bend a little with the affected arm while keeping it down.
- Start swinging your arm, making a small circle while keeping the diameter of a foot.
- Complete 10 revolutions in every direction per day.
- Keep increasing the diameter of the wing with the improvement of symptoms but stop pushing yourself forcefully.
- Push yourself up only when you are able to by add light weight to the swinging arm.
Towel Stretch
- Take a towel and hold one end behind your back and the opposite end with the leftover hand in a horizontal position.
- Employ your working arm to pull the affected one upward and stretch it.
- If you want to do an intense one, drap a towel on your good shoulder.
- Hold its bottom part with the affected one and bring it towards the lower back using the frozen arm.
- Perform this exercise daily for around 10–20 times a day.
Finger Walk
Whether you are suffering from cervical radiculopathy or just plain neck pain, finger walking can cure it within seconds.
- Stand in the position of facing the wall, keeping the length of an arm.
- Touch the wall at waist height with the fingertips of the frozen arm.
- Bend your elbow a little and gradually work your fingers in an upward direction like a spider in such a way that your arm raises without feeling pain.
- Make sure your muscles are doing everything and not your fingers.
- Slowly, bring your arm down and repeat it.
- Do this exercise 10–20 times a day.
Cross-Body Reach
Cross-body reach will be helpful for your shoulder as well as your upper back. To do it, follow the given steps.
- Come in the standing or sitting position.
- Use your working arm to bring your frozen ones up to elbow height and across your body.
- Apply gentle pressure to stretch your shoulder and hold for 15-20 seconds.
- Continue it 10–20 times a day.
Armpit Stretch
The armpit stretch eases and soothes the pain in your shoulder without causing any trouble.
- Use your working arm to lift the frozen one to chest height.
- Bend your knees, opening up your armpits.
- Keep your knees slightly bent and perform stretching but ensure you aren’t pushing yourself excessively.
- Repeat this process 10–20 times per day.
Outward Rotation
Outward rotation releases pressure from your joints.
- Use a rubber exercise band between your hands and elbows such that it forms a perpendicular to your side.
- Rotate the bottom of the affected arm outward, keeping a distance of 2-3 inches, and hold for 5 seconds.
- Repeat this 10-15 times.
Inward Direction
The inward direction is the same as the outward direction, but you have to fix the rubber band on the doorknob. Hold the remaining end of the affected arm, forming a 90-degree angle, and start pulling the band towards you with 2-3 inches of distance. And as you did above, repeat it.
Final Take on Exercises for the Frozen Shoulder
When you have a frozen shoulder, the biggest problem is getting through your daily life chores. Exercising will provide you with relief to a certain extent, but eventually, you will have to use a pain reliever too. The best we can recommend is Moov’s magical pain-relieving spray.