7 Stretching Exercises For Frozen Shoulder, Recommended By Harvard

Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a condition wherein your shoulder movement gets limited. This happens when the connective tissue around the shoulder becomes stiff, thick and inflamed. A certain part of the population tends to suffer from frozen shoulder, however, the condition is more common in people with diabetes. Also, the condition tends to get aggravated during the winter months.

If you're suffering from frozen shoulders, you can perform some exercises that can help you get relief from the condition. These stretching exercises help to treat the condition. Your doctor might also recommend some physical therapy or pain relievers to treat the issue, depending on the stage and severity. While the condition can resolve by itself in 12 to 18 months, exercises and other treatments are recommended to speed up recovery and provide relief from the pain. Harvard Medical School recommends some stretching exercises that you can do if you're suffering from a frozen shoulder.

Harvard-Recommended Stretching Exercises For Frozen Shoulder

Pendulum Stretch

This is the exercise that you should start with if you're suffering from frozen shoulder. Stand and lean forward so that the affected arm hangs freely. Then, gently swing your arm in small circles about a foot in diameter, performing 10 revolutions in each direction. Perform this once every day. As your shoulder loosens, you can increase the swing's diameter for better stretch. This exercise can help to relax the shoulder muscles and also increase joint mobility without straining it.

Cross-Body Stretch

Sit or stand upright and use your unaffected arm to lift your affected arm at the elbow, bringing it across your chest. Apply gentle pressure to stretch the back of the shoulder. Hold the stretch for 15 to 20 seconds and repeat 10 to 20 times daily. This stretch targets the shoulder and can help reduce tightness of the joint, which often affects movement in frozen shoulders.

Towel Stretch

This exercise helps improve shoulder flexibility and external rotation. Take a three-foot towel and hold it behind your back with both hands, keeping it horizontal. Use your unaffected arm to pull the towel upward, which stretches the affected arm gently. You can also try and drape the towel over your good shoulder and pull the affected arm downward from behind. Repeat this 10 to 20 times a day. This helps to loosen the capsule around the shoulder joint that becomes tightened.

Finger Walk (Wall Crawl)

Stand facing a wall, at about three-quarters of arm's length. Touch the wall at waist level with your affected hand's fingertips. Slowly "walk" your fingers upward, as if crawling up the wall, until you reach the highest comfortable point near shoulder height. Use your fingers to do the stretching rather than your shoulder muscles. Slowly bring your hand back down and repeat. This exercise helps to gently lift the arm and improves shoulder mobility.

Armpit Stretch

Position your affected arm on a shelf or surface roughly at breast height using your good arm. Slightly bend your knees to open the armpit area and gently deepen the stretch by bending your knees further without forcing movement. Complete 10 to 20 repetitions daily. This exercise stretches the connective tissues and muscles in the armpit area, which helps improve shoulder rotation and flexibility.

Outward Rotation

Hold a rubber exercise band between your hands with your elbows bent at a 90-degree angle, keeping them close to your sides. Rotate the lower part of your affected arm outward away from your body by two to three inches, and hold this position for five seconds. Repeat this rotation 10 to 15 times once a day. This exercise targets the external rotator muscles of the shoulder, which tend to be stiff and weak in the frozen shoulder.

Inward Rotation

Stand next to a closed door and hook one end of a rubber exercise band around the doorknob. Grasp the other end with the hand of the affected arm, keeping your elbow at a 90-degree angle and close to your side. Pull the band toward your body by two to three inches and hold for five seconds. Repeat 10 to 15 times once daily. This inward rotation exercise strengthens the internal rotator muscles and improves the ability to rotate the arm toward the body.

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