How Can a Physical Therapist Help?
Your physical therapist's overall goal is to restore your movement so that you can perform your activities and life roles. Once the evaluation process has identified the stage of your condition, your therapist will create an exercise program tailored to your needs. Exercise has been found to be most effective for those who are in stage 2 or higher.
Stages 1 and 2
Your physical therapist will help you maintain as much range of motion as possible and will help reduce the pain. Your therapist may use a combination of stretching and manual therapy techniques to increase your range of motion. The therapist also may decide to use treatments such as heat and ice to help relax the muscles prior to other forms of treatment. The therapist will give you a home exercise program designed to help reduce the loss of motion.
Stage 3
The focus of treatment will be on the return of motion, with your therapist using more aggressive stretching and manual therapy techniques. You may begin some strengthening exercises as well, and your home exercise program will change to include these exercises.
Stage 4
In the final stage, your therapist will focus on the return of "normal" shoulder body mechanics and your return to normal, everyday, pain-free activities. The therapist will continue to use stretching, strength training, and a variety of manual therapy techniques.
Sometimes, conservative care cannot reduce the pain. If this happens to you, your physical therapist may refer you for an injection of anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving medication into the joint space. Research has shown that although these injections don’t provide longer-term benefit for range of motion and don’t shorten the duration of the condition, they do offer short-term benefit in reducing pain.