The Mayo Clinic defines a frozen shoulder as follows: “Frozen shoulder, also called adhesive capsulitis, involves stiffness and pain in the shoulder joint. Signs and symptoms typically begin slowly, then get worse.” Frozen shoulder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
This condition may be the result of an accident or injury and result in a limited range of motion of the shoulder and arm. Everything feels stuck or “frozen”.
From a somatic perspective, we look at the shoulder with a wider lens and take into consideration how the shoulder is integrated into our whole body / soma. When the rib cage doesn’t move freely – which can be the result of any of the three stress response patterns Thomas Hanna, PhD. defined – it restricts movement of the scapulae (shoulder blades). Thomas Louis Hanna - Wikipedia
Most of the muscles that move the shoulder blade and rotator cuff attach to the center of the body to allow us to hunch the shoulders, round forward, pull back, or reach up.
After my mother had a minor stroke her left side, and shoulder in particular, were stiff and contracted. Rather than mobilizing the shoulder which would have been painful, we focused on restoring mobility and balance in the center of the body / soma. We started with the fundamental Arch & Flattening movement and gently restored mobility to the rib cage. Over time we added the side bend in a seated position and standing movement sequences.
Somatics zooms out and considers your whole system which can be more effective than treating a painful area in isolation. Everything is connected and you are a whole soma.
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