Frozen shoulder

Frozen shoulder means your shoulder is painful and stiff for months, sometimes years. It can be treated with shoulder exercises and painkillers.

See a GP if:

• you have shoulder pain and stiffness that does not go away – pain can be worse at night when sleeping
• the pain is so bad it makes it hard to move your arm and shoulder

Treatment from a GP

Broadly, treatment works in 3 main steps:

1. Pain relief – avoid movements that cause you pain. Only move your shoulder gently. Use paracetamol or ibuprofen to ease the pain.
2. Stronger pain and swelling relief – prescribed painkillers. Maybe steroid injections in your shoulder to bring down the swelling.
3. Getting movement back – shoulder exercises once it's less painful. This can be at home or with a physiotherapist.

Your GP might mix these treatments. This depends on how painful and stiff your shoulder is.

Stronger pain relief is usually only used for a short time because it can cause side effects.

Physiotherapy for frozen shoulder

Physiotherapy can help you get movement back in your shoulder.

Your GP will only prescribe a limited number of sessions (for example 6 to 8). The exact number depends on how bad your shoulder is.

The physiotherapist will first check how much movement you have in your shoulders.

Treatments from a physiotherapist include:

• stretching exercises
• massage
• warm and cold therapy (thermotherapy)

If you're still in pain after you've finished your sessions, go back to your GP. They might prescribe more physiotherapy or try another treatment.

Physiotherapy may not be available everywhere and waiting times can be long. You can also get physiotherapy privately.

How long frozen shoulder lasts

Frozen shoulder usually takes at least 1.5 to 2 years to get better. Sometimes it can be up to 5 years.

However, the pain and stiffness will usually go away eventually.

How you can ease the pain yourself

Causes of frozen shoulder

Frozen shoulder happens when the tissue around your shoulder joint becomes inflamed.

The tissue then gets tighter and shrinks, which causes pain.

Frozen shoulder can happen because:

• you had an injury or surgery that keeps you from moving your arm normally
• you have diabetes – it's still unclear why this is but it's important to have your regular diabetes check-ups to catch any problems early

However, it's often not clear why people get a frozen shoulder.