What is the outcome for Adhesive Capsulitis without physical therapy?
How long does the condition usually last and can full function and
mobility regained through home exercise?

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians website, 

"Although recovery is usually spontaneous, treatment with
intra-articular corticosteroids and gentle but persistent physical
therapy may provide a better outcome, resulting in little functional
compromise."
             -Lori B. Siegel, MD, Norman J. Cohen, MD, Eric P Gall, MD

The complete article is at this URL:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/990401ap/1843.html

The article defines this ailment as progressing through three stages,
totalling anywhere from eight to seventeen months.

Familydoctor.org has a simpler discussion of the problem and some
simple home exercises at this URL:
http://familydoctor.org/handouts/374.html

A few further links, if you REALLY want to get into it:

www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2000/09_00/sandor.htm 

www.medicalmultimediagroup.com/pated/shoulder_problems/
adhesive_capsulitis.html

www.sechrest.com/mmg/reflib/shoulder/frozen.html 

orthopedics.about.com/cs/frozenshoulder/

As always, this information is no substitute for qualified medical
advice.

Search Criteria:

"Adhesive Capsulitis"

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Clarification of Answer by chromedome-ga on 05 Jun 2002 11:15 PDT

Sorry, that last URL should be:

www.orthopedics.about.com/cs/frozenshoulder/

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Request for Answer Clarification by dku-ga on 05 Jun 2002 11:35 PDT

That has not really answered the question concerning NO physical therapy.

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Clarification of Answer by chromedome-ga on 05 Jun 2002 12:05 PDT

As the initial quote states, "recovery is usually spontaneous,"
although "therapy may provide a better outcome..."

In other words, it will usually go away on its own, but the risk of
aftereffects is lower if you engage in some form of therapy (which
could be as simple as some home exercises, as in the scond link I
posted).

The third link includes findings from several studies, indicating that
some residual stiffness and discomfort remained for about half of
those patients.  Only a very few were unable to resume their previous
level of activity.  This site notes that a potential downside of a
home exercise program is beginning it too soon, possibly causing
irritation and prolonging the course of the ailment. Please be
cautious.

In short, if you want me to tell you that if you ignore it it will go
away, I'm not qualified to do that, and a physician would not do so
without examining you.  If you want to check out a few more exercises,
here is a link to a few things your doctor might assign for you to do:

http://www.fpnotebook.com/ORT301.htm

But again, this is no guarantee of success, and no substitute for
appropriate medical advice.  If you want to do nothing at all, the
literature suggests that your odds are reasonable, but risking the use
of a major joint is not something to undertake lightly.

Thank you for your inquiry.

I was able to find all that data myself, but thanks for trying.

Hello, 

You might expand your research to include a few of the following
related topic phrases:

"frozen shoulder"
"acromioclavicular joint"
"impingement syndrome"
"thoracic outlet syndrome"
"glenohumeral joint"
"rotator cuff tear"
"benign neglect"

Management of the stiff shoulder (Google search terms:  "adhesive
capsulitis" "physical therapy" "benign neglect")
http://www.aaos.org/wordhtml/anmeet99/sciprog/f.htm

Additional resources regarding shoulder injuries/disorders (Google
search terms:  "adhesive capsulitis" "thoracic outlet syndrome"
"frozen shoulder")
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/shoulderinjuriesanddisorders.html

Hope this is helpful,
V

p.s.

Also multiple hits using "frozen shoulder" "rehabilitation."

Good luck with that,
V

I am still confused why people who probably don't have medical
experience answer questions like this.  This should be a restriction
put in place by Google!  I however have a degree in Bio-Medical
science and go directly to the right source for my info.  What follows
was written in consultation with my cousin who is an emergency room
doctor.

The use of shoulder manipulation in the treatment of frozen shoulder
syndrome remains controversial, especially in idiopathic cases. 
Opponents cite the risk of dislocation, fracture, nerve palsy, and
rotator cuff tearing as limiting the usefulness of manipulation. 
Treatment is recommended however, if the AC is the result of an
underlying systemic illness or anatomic process including, but not
limited to, osteoarthritis, fracture, avascular necrosis, crystalline
arthropathy, calcific tendinitis, and neoplasm.

In 90% of patients, frozen shoulder will recover spontaneously.  The
remaining 10% will have long-term shoulder disabilities.  Timewise,
recovery will occur between 5 - 9 months from the time of adhesiveness
(less pain, more stiffness, less pain than the onset) yet this is
reduced with physical therapy to about 13 weeks.  I didn't touch on
the first stage of this condition (the one with lots of shoulder pain)
because this varies WIDELY from person to person.

In terms of home treatment, heat, cold and other modalities that relax
the muscles may help preserve range of motion.  But will you be able
to regain full fucntion through home exercise?  Possibly.  As long as
the AC is idiopathic in nature.  Exercises should consist of the
stretching of other contracted soft tissues around the shoulder, in
addition to the adhesive capsule.

My cousin would however HIGHLY recommend that you visit with a
physician to rule out secondary AC.  If this is the case, feel free to
proceed with a PRESCRIBED home treatment program!  My cousin gives all
of his patients with this condition an article from a 1999
publication, the abstract of which can be found here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10477191&dopt=Abstract

This article gives you a basic home treatment program which is VERY
effective.

Hope this helps!  I strive for quality in all answers I give.

Thank you to indicted-ga. That article was exactly what I was looking
for and I was able to print out the full article. Again, Thank you
very very much.