Frozen Shoulder accounts for only a small percentage of shoulder pain issues, and that’s a good thing considering Frozen Shoulder is not only difficult to treat, but it’s also a highly debilitating condition. Being a non-disabled person and then suddenly finding that you have a Frozen Shoulder is like waking up one day and suddenly having a full-blown disability. There is nothing quite like things going wrong with the body to help us appreciate how great life is when our bodies are working.

The primary difference between Frozen Shoulder and most other shoulder complaints is that a Frozen Shoulder tends to be much stiffer and more restricted, meaning that a Frozen Shoulder is painful and disabling. Frozen Shoulder predominantly occurs in females. The majority of Frozen Shoulders also tend to occur in people who have had elevated stress levels for some time. However, it would be a mistake to assume that stress is the only factor in generating Frozen Shoulder and of course, being a female isn’t the only factor in Frozen Shoulder either. So what causes Frozen Shoulder?

Stress-related conditions are always complex and never simple. If you have Irritable-Bowel Syndrome (IBS) triggered by stress, it is likely that you also have a genetic predisposition to IBS. It’s also likely that you have an imbalance in your gut bacteria; potentially, you may have also had a bad diet over an extended period. Just because stress triggers the IBS, it doesn’t mean that it’s the whole story. In the same way that stress combined with genetics and poor diet can cause IBS, stress combined with other factors tends to cause Frozen Shoulder. 

On a physical level, a Frozen Shoulder results from chronic loss of strength and postural integrity within the shoulder girdle. Sitting for thousands and thousands of hours, as much office work causes muscle wasting behind the Shoulder, leading to the gradual collapse of posture. Even office workers who have no stress inflict a significant amount of strain on the tissues of the Shoulder joint, including the joint capsule; juts by sitting. These weaknesses tend to go relatively unnoticed for long periods, but when combined with increased stress and a lack of or access to exercise, episodes of Frozen Shoulder are invited in.

In the past few decades, biomedical advancements in diagnostics and treatment have drastically increased patient outcomes and relief from chronic back pain. However, recent research in the psychology field has created an opportunity to add value to the treatment effectiveness of chronic back pain; the patient-practitioner mindset. How exactly does enhancing the patient-practitioner mindset add therapeutic value to chronic back pain relief?

In simplistic terms practitioners gather information about the patients’ complaints and then communicate illness and treatment information. However, at an emotional level, the conversation can evoke a sense of mutual trust and motivation. The patient-practitioner mindset can drive motivation and alter physiology to enhance clinical outcomes and relief from chronic back pain. 

Trusting Your Practitioner

Mindsets are lenses or frames of mind that orient an individual to a particular set of associations and expectations. They are moulded by outside influences such as culture, religion, media, social networks, and trusted people. In healthcare, it’s imperative to develop trust between the patient and the practitioner. From the practitioners side, for better or worse, it’s crucial to be honest with the patient about the severity of their condition and the length of time required for effective treatment. From the patient side, continually being open with your practitioner about concerns or limitations allows for a synergistic relationship based on trust, empathy, support, and reassurance. A recent study found patients reported more beneficial health behaviours, fewer symptoms and higher quality of life and were more satisfied with treatment when they had higher trust in their health care professional.