There are many patients who have frozen shoulder in clinical practice. So, what exactly is “frozen shoulder”? At present, the diagnostic usage of “frozen shoulder” is rather confusing, but there are three meanings: First, it is a shoulder pain with an unclear diagnosis, which means a “waste paper basket” diagnosis, a diagnosis that is not well understood, which is still relatively common in China. Secondly, it refers to the pain syndrome that causes shoulder dysfunction, i.e. “frozen shoulder” in the broad sense, which has been used less and less and has been replaced by a more accurate diagnostic term. These include: rotator cuff tears, calcific supraspinatus tendonitis, subacromial bursitis, biceps longus tendon tenosynovitis, rostral or rostro-humeral ligamentitis, frozen shoulder, acromioclavicular arthritis, suprascapular nerve entrapment, subacromial impingement, and other specific localized and qualitative terms. The exact cause of “frozen shoulder” is not known, but may be related to autoimmune reactions or endocrine disorders. For example, many people are clinically found to have a combination of diabetes mellitus and poor glycemic control. In general, patients feel that there may be no cause. As long as the shoulder joint is made immobile or less mobile, the disease may occur over time. The lack of movement of the joint leads to local metabolic disorders and blockage of blood and lymphatic circulation, resulting in degenerative changes, exudation and fibrosis around the joint such as the joint capsule, rotator cuff, biceps tendon and rostro-humeral ligament, which greatly restrict the movement of the shoulder joint. This disease is also known as “fifty shoulder” because of its high incidence around the age of fifty, and in Chinese medicine it is called “frozen shoulder” or “leaky shoulder”. The main symptom is pain in the shoulder, especially at night. There is a significant restriction in the forward flexion, abduction and internal and external rotation of the shoulder joint. Over time, deltoid atrophy can occur, and the patient will have dysfunction in raising the arm, washing the face, combing the hair, and tying the buckle. Well, the condition is introduced, and the following is how to treat it. Because I found in the clinic that the majority of patients who came to see the doctor have gone through inappropriate treatment, such as just a lot of treatment by painkillers, looking for someone else to massage and break hard, a lot of hot water heat therapy, etc.. In fact, they all missed the best opportunity for treatment. The best opportunity is at the time of the onset of the disease, and often through reasonable rest and ice treatment can get a rapid and complete recovery. In fact, patients who come to the clinic are usually very late, and the course of the disease is usually more than 3 months old. This treatment can only be obtained through a longer scientific rehabilitation. What is scientific rehabilitation? The following is a brief description of the principle: the general “trilogy” of frozen shoulder treatment: 1. Hot compress: the temperature can be around 40 degrees, hot towels are not as easy to control the temperature as hot water bags. Each time 20-30 minutes is enough. It can properly promote local blood circulation and help the next step of shoulder function exercise. 2. Shoulder function exercise: The most common shoulder function defects are abduction (shoulder lift), external rotation and internal rotation (shoulder rotation). Therefore, the content and methods of exercise are mainly based on the lack of function. The main movements are as follows: (1) bending and turning the shoulder; (2) climbing the wall with fingers; (3) pulling and tugging the hand and shoulder of the affected side with the help of the normal shoulder and hand, mainly including two movements: internal retraction (in front of the chest) and internal rotation (behind the back); (4) the shoulder and upper arm of the affected side against the side of the body, using the hand of the normal side to push the forearm of the affected side to the outside (0 degree of external rotation of the shoulder joint); (5) pulley pulling and tugging exercises. There are essentials to the action, that is, to try to make each action to the maximum extent, that is, to feel more pain, or to feel the limit. However, special attention needs to be paid to never over-involvement, so as not to cause unnecessary injury. This degree in your exercise is gradually experienced. When the action reached the maximum degree after, generally maintain 1-2 minutes on it. Above the main 5 kinds of movements, as long as you practice a cycle can be completely. If there is no condition, E action is not necessary to practice. The other movements are well practiced, you can get good results. 3, the last part of the 3-part series is the ice, is also extremely critical one. Because in the process of exercise, the tissues around your shoulder joint are stretched to the maximum extent, so it is likely to cause swelling or even small bleeding of the tissues, and it is necessary to cool down such tissues to reduce the further aggravation of the limited mobility of the shoulder joint caused by tissue damage and bleeding. Of course, the point to note here is that after these 3 steps of exercise every day, the pain can be restored to the level of the previous day or even lighter the next day. If there is a tendency of significant aggravation, it means that the method of exercise may be incorrect or the exercise is too much, etc., and you need to find a doctor immediately for another consultation. Seniors don’t have to worry too much, as icing after an activity will generally have no adverse effect on your shoulder joint. Of course, the method of icing must be scientific. This is described in detail in my other medical article “The Scientific Approach to Icing”. Please refer to it. After the above 3-part exercise, you will usually see significant results in 3-6 months. There is also generally no need to take any pain medication throughout the process. This is because the majority of people do not have pain to the extent that it needs to be reduced with medication.