The right frozen shoulder exercises depend on one thing: how IRRITABLE your shoulder is right now.
When it’s angry and painful, gentle movement within comfort works better than hard stretching. In one study, about 9 in 10 people on a gentle program did well, compared with about 6 in 10 on an intensive one.
When the pain has settled and it’s mostly stiffness, firmer stretching into the end of the range becomes the right move.
Is your shoulder angry or calm?
- Angry (high irritability): pain comes on BEFORE you reach the end of the movement, night pain wakes you, and pain lingers for a long time after activity. Go gentle
- Calm (low irritability): pain only at the very end of the movement, little or no night pain, and any soreness settles quickly. Go firmer
- It changes. The same shoulder can be angry in month two and calm in month six. Reassess every few weeks, ideally with a physio
Stretching an angry shoulder hard makes it angrier. Stretching a calm one gently wastes the window.
Five exercises
- Pendulum: lean forward with your good hand on a table and let the sore arm hang. Gently sway your body so the arm swings in small circles. 30 to 60 seconds. Good for every stage
- Table slide: sit at a table with your hand on a towel. Slide it forward as you lean your body forward, then back. The table takes the weight of the arm. 10 slow reps
- Stick turn-out: lie on your back, elbow tucked at your side and bent to 90 degrees. Hold a stick or umbrella in both hands and use the good arm to push the sore hand outward. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. 5 to 10 reps
- Towel behind the back: hold a towel over your good shoulder with that hand, grab the bottom with the sore hand behind your back, and gently pull the towel up. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. 5 reps
- Wall walk: face a wall and walk your fingers up it as high as comfortable, then slowly walk them down. 5 to 10 reps. Step closer as it improves
How hard, how often
- Angry shoulder: move only to where it starts to feel tight or mildly uncomfortable, and stop there. Short holds of 5 to 10 seconds. Several short sessions a day
- Calm shoulder: move into a firm stretch that you can feel. Longer holds of 30 seconds or more. Two or three sessions a day
- The soreness rule: some discomfort during the exercise is fine. It should settle within an hour or two and not be worse the next morning. If it is, you did too much. Ease back
- Warm up first: a warm shower or heat pack for a few minutes can make the stretches easier
What helps alongside the exercises
- A steroid injection when pain is stopping you exercising at all. See frozen shoulder treatment
- Use the arm for light everyday tasks within comfort. Keeping it tucked away all day makes it stiffer
- Sleep on your back or the other side, with a pillow hugged in front of you to support the sore arm
If your shoulder stiffened after an operation, the rules are different. Follow your surgeon’s program. See shoulder stiffness after surgery.
Stop and get checked if
- Pain is getting steadily worse despite easing back
- Night pain returns after it had settled
- You have numbness, tingling or weakness in the arm
- The shoulder becomes hot, red or swollen
- You’ve seen no change at all after 6 to 8 weeks
For the full picture, see frozen shoulder: symptoms, stages and how long it lasts.
Gentle when it’s angry, firm when it’s calm, and check which one it is every few weeks.