Frozen Shoulder - Living Through the Acute Spasms of Pain | Frozen Shoulder and more | Niel Asher Education Blogs and Articles blog

Frozen Shoulder or Impingement?

The early stages of a frozen shoulder are generally associated with acutely painful muscle "spasms"

In the early days of a frozen shoulder any sudden movement such as reaching for a falling cup, holding a door open, or even being bumped into on the street, can cause a sudden and excruciating protective muscle spasm.

The spasm felt is due to a ‘twanging’ of the tendon sheath surrounding the (long head of the) biceps tendon.

This gets massively inflamed during phases I and II of a frozen shoulder. The tendon sits in a groove at the top of the humorous bone ‘bicipital groove’.

The inflamed tendon slips in and out of the bicipital grove – that slip is what causes the acute catching pain and spasm in the shoulder and arm.

The Biceps Tendon & its sheath

Understanding the spasm helps to control it!

These acute attacks of “blinding” pain will often add to the clients already considerable burden, by contributing anxiety.

Most people find that they can stop these attacks by doing the following exercise - however, this exercise needs to be understood first.

When an unexpected movement goes through the joint the inflamed biceps tendon can ‘twang’ as described above.

The muscles all lock into a protective spasm, especially the biceps muscle itself.

This sudden increase in the tone of all the muscles can be reversed by going with the contraction. The muscles no longer ‘see’ a need for their activity and are switched off.

However, there is quite a fine line between gently going with the muscles and creating a further ‘challenge’.

Remember that the exercise described below is subtle and should be performed slowly and gently.

Spasm Exercise

• Rest the hand on a table or chair back palm up.

• Allow the weight of the arm to rest on the hand, causing slight compression at the shoulder joint.

• Breathe deeply and slowly. It helps to apply the pressure as you breathe out.

• It is as though you were about to lean your body weight on your hand, while only applying a fraction of the force.

Frozen Shoulder and the Niel Asher Technique

The Niel-Asher Technique is a 'natural' method of treatment that utilizes the body's own healing mechanisms. No drugs. No surgery. It is the only manual therapy technique that has been clinically proven to treat frozen shoulder.

The technique uses a specific and unique sequence of manipulations and pressure points to the shoulder joints and soft-tissues.

In essence, these can be thought of as 'inputs' into the nervous system.

NAT works with the body, listening to the body's wisdom - not by forcing the arm into the restricted ranges but by applying gentle stimulation to muscles whilst they are resting.

The technique has been in use since 1997 and has been adopted and approved by Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Massage Therapists, and Chiropractors in the UK, Europe, and the United States.

Links

Find a Trigger Point Professional in your area

Excellence in Education Award 2017

Visit Online Store

Help Desk

About Niel Asher Education

Niel Asher Education is a leading provider of distance learning and continued education courses.

Established in the United Kingdom in 1999, we provide course and distance learning material for therapists and other healthcare professionals in over 40 countries.

Our courses are accredited by over 90 professional associations and national accreditation institutions including the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB). Full details of all international course accreditations can be found on our website.

Printed course materials and other products offered on our websites are despatched worldwide from our 3 locations in the UK (London), USA (Pennsylvania) and Australia (Melbourne).

More About Us

NAMTPT AWARD 2017

We are honored to have received the 2017 "Excellence in Education" Award from the National Association of Myofascial Trigger Point Therapists.

Since 1999 Niel Asher Education has won numerous awards for education and in particular for education and services provided in the field of trigger point therapy.

Read Full Article

Award Winning Instructors

Niel Asher Healthcare course instructors have won a host of prestigious awards including 2 lifetime achievement honorees - Stuart Hinds, Lifetime Achievement Honoree, AAMT, 2015, and Dr. Jonathan Kuttner, MD, Lifetime Achievement Honoree, NAMTPT, 2014.

Meet the Instructors

NAT Certification

If you are a qualified/licensed manual therapist or exercise/fitness professional you can expand your credentials with NAT certification.

In addition to national accreditation for continued education, each course that we offer includes "NAT Learning Credits". By taking and completing courses you can accumulate NAT credits to qualify for NAT certification.

There are currently 3 levels of NAT certification. Certifying NAT is a valuable way to show your clients that you take continued education seriously, and to promote your skills and qualifications.

About NAT Certification

Accreditation

NAT courses are accredited for continuing education by over 30 professional associations in North America, United Kingdom, Australia, and European Union countries. These include The National Academy of Sports Medicine, Physical Therapy Board of California, AAFA, National Certification Board for Manual Therapists and Bodyworkers, Sports Therapy Institute, and Myotherapy Australia.

See Full List

Niel Asher Technique

Since 1999 the Niel Asher Technique for treating trigger points has been adopted by over 100,000 therapists worldwide, and has been applied to the treatment of a number of common musculoskeletal injuries.

The Niel Asher Technique for treating frozen shoulder was first introduced and published in 1997 and has been widely adopted by therapists and exercise professionals working within elite sports and athletics.

International Students

Most of our courses are available as either "Printed" or 'Download" editions. When you purchase a download edition, you receive immediate lifetime access to all course material. Course texts can be downloaded and printed if required.

When you purchase a "Printed" edition, you will also receive free access to the download edition.

We ship Worldwide from locations in the USA, UK, and Australia. Most items are despatched within 24 hours and shipping is FREE for all orders over US$50.

Shipping

This trigger point therapy blog is intended to be used for information purposes only and is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment or to substitute for a medical diagnosis and/or treatment rendered or prescribed by a physician or competent healthcare professional. This information is designed as educational material, but should not be taken as a recommendation for treatment of any particular person or patient. Always consult your physician if you think you need treatment or if you feel unwell.