Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder, medically known as adhesive capsulitis, occurs when the connective tissue capsule surrounding the shoulder joint becomes thick, stiff, and inflamed. This process creates "adhesions" (tight bands of tissue) that severely restrict your range of motion.

The condition typically develops in three stages:

1. Freezing: You experience increasing pain and a progressive loss of movement.

2. Frozen: Stiffness peaks, making daily tasks difficult, though pain may actually lessen.

3. Thawing: Shoulder mobility gradually returns.

Full recovery can take 1 to 3 years. It most commonly affects women aged 40–60 and those with diabetes or thyroid conditions. Treatment focuses on restoring flexibility through physical therapy, stretching, and sometimes steroid injections.

Lok-Kwan has treated frozen shoulders at different degrees of progression in both males and females. Recovery: thawing, happens much faster with treatment. In fact, Lok-Kwan has never witnessed thawing to happen naturally (that doesn’t mean it can’t happen). On the other hand, he has seen the condition, untreated, deteriorate so much that that shoulder gets completely locked up. A combination of acupuncture with manual manipulation is effective for treating frozen shoulders.