Frozen shoulder treatment in Edmonton

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a thickened joint capsule that limits movement in every direction and runs through painful, stiff and recovery stages. Assessment at our Edmonton clinic establishes which you are in, because that changes what treatment is appropriate.

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What is frozen shoulder?

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a condition in which the capsule around the shoulder joint becomes inflamed and then thickens and contracts. The defining sign is loss of movement in every direction, including when someone else moves your arm for you — particularly rotating the arm outwards. It runs a long course, typically through a painful stage, a stiff stage, and a gradual recovery.

Frozen Shoulder Assessment And Treatment At Vertex Physiotherapy

The three stages

The stage you are in changes what treatment is appropriate, which is why the assessment spends time establishing it.

  • Freezing: pain leads, often worst at night, and movement starts to reduce. Usually a few months.
  • Frozen: pain settles somewhat but stiffness dominates. Reaching behind the back and overhead becomes difficult.
  • Thawing: movement gradually returns. This stage is slow and can run many months.

Who tends to get it

It is most common between roughly 40 and 60, and more common in women. Diabetes and thyroid conditions are both associated with it, and shoulders that have been immobilised after injury or surgery are at higher risk.

Often there is no clear trigger at all, which people find frustrating. That does not change the plan, but it is worth knowing that a missing explanation is normal here.

What treatment usually involves

In the painful stage the aim is comfort and keeping whatever range you have, not forcing movement. Aggressive stretching early tends to aggravate it. Sleep positioning, activity modification and gentle range work within tolerance do more.

In the stiff stage the emphasis shifts to gradually regaining range, with hands-on joint work and a home program you repeat often in short sessions rather than occasionally in long ones. Strengthening comes back in as range returns.

A corticosteroid injection in the painful stage helps some people enough to make the exercise side workable. That is a conversation with your physician; a physiotherapist can tell you whether it seems worth raising.

Questions people ask

It is a long condition. The usual range quoted is one to three years from onset to substantial recovery, though many people regain functional movement well before the shoulder feels completely normal. Treatment is aimed at comfort, keeping range, and making the course easier to live through.

Not in the painful stage, where forcing range typically flares it. What helps changes with the stage, which is the main reason to have it assessed rather than work from general shoulder advice.

It can, and in some people it does, though usually not at the same time. Having had it once does not mean it will.

No. In a rotator cuff problem you can usually still be moved through range passively even if it hurts. In frozen shoulder the range is genuinely lost, including when someone else moves the arm.

Most do, but on a timeline of one to three years, and some people are left with a permanent loss of range. Treatment aims to shorten that and keep the range you have, so you are not choosing between physiotherapy and waiting; it is about which path leaves you with the more usable shoulder.

In the painful first stage, an injection can reduce pain enough to let you move and sleep. It works best combined with a movement program rather than on its own. Your physician arranges the injection; we plan the rehabilitation around it.

Frozen shoulder is a long condition, so visits are spaced out rather than stacked. Typically weekly at the start while the home program is being set, then every two to four weeks to progress it. The daily work is done at home.

Book a shoulder assessment

Vertex Physiotherapy is at 6958 76 Ave NW #205, Edmonton, AB T6B 2R2. Call (825) 525-2852 or book online.

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Written by Vertex Physiotherapy · Reviewed by Bipin Pokhrel, Provisional Physiotherapist · Last updated September 2026