Frozen shoulder exercises, not anti inflammatories, cortisone injections, or surgery, are the best answer to this common disorder. A frozen shoulder is a very limiting and impairing condition. Technically called Adhesive Capsulitis, it starts and develops in 3 distinct phases.

• A freezing phase, when the rotator cuff starts getting sore and inflamed, typically at night, though range of movement is still unaffected.
• A frozen phase, when the rotator cuff is constricted by adhesions, which are scars of the sorrounding capsule membrane, and the arm affected looses full range of motion. Any attempt to go through the arm lock is met with pain. This is the most annoying and frustrating phase of the condition.
• A thawing phase, when the inflammation slowly starts subsiding and movement is very slowly recovered. It can last 1 year or more.

It is during the last phase that a program of frozen shoulder exercises would be advisable. Overall,  an Adhesive Capsulitis condition could last as long as 3 years in the worst case scenario, with 1 to 2 years disability periods being very common. I was lucky to get away with it in 15 months, but that was long enough to fully "appreciate" the impairment that a Frozen Shoulder implies in all the most mundane activities, like driving a car or reaching for the cupboard. All movements that we take for granted become a pain and impossible to perform.

However, it is possible to cut down on natural healing times with a proper set of exercises devised  by a professional therapist, as i later found out. It is possible to brake through the dull, aching feeling of a thawing phase and accelerate recovery to full functionality. Leaving the shoulder completely at rest during this period would only prolong the misery, while carefully selected rotator cuff exercises would gradually restore shoulder functionality. Due to its great complexity, it is normal for the shoulder joint to take ages to recover, comparing to other joints.

Therefore, it is all the more important to follow a professional frozen shoulder exercises program to help the healing process, cut down recovery times, and avoid drug dependancy. It is no use relying on a hope and pray approach to improvement ither, because it couldl only lead to a long unnecessary delay.