Treatment to Frozen Shoulder In Chinese Medicine:

What is Frozen Shoulder:
A frozen shoulder is a shoulder joint with significant loss of its range of motion in all directions. 

What is Frozen Shoulder in Chinese Medicine:
In Chinese Medicine point of view, frozen shoulder is caused by Cold pathogen lodged onto skin pores and penetrates into shoulder joint and causes the shoulder joint locked up and become immobile.  

Frozen shoulder is commonly onset in winter due the increases of cold atmosphere and cold air. 
Patient is easily attacked by cold pathogen in the morning (first wake up) or after sport (when sweating). 
The reason for these times is: when patient first wake up, the temperature will start to arise, the pores of skin will open as well (mild sweating). In the mean time, the cold pathogen (cold air) will lodge onto these pores and penetrates to deeper layers of muscle and joint, thus causing pain, immobilise or stiffness.
 (In Chinese medicine, we defined, Wry neck is when cold pathogen is lodged in superior muscle layer, Frozen shoulder is when cold pathogen entered the deepest layer).
 
For Athletes or after sport, they normally had profuse sweating after exercise, the pores are open as well, if they don't dry up quickly or get cover up fast, they commonly develop the muscle aching or wry neck, these is due to cold pathogen lodge and attacking the body muscles. 

* Cold pathogens are including: Cold weather, Air-Condition or exposing to cold-wind when sweating

What is the treatment to Frozen Shoulder in Chinese Medicine?
In TCM, We will combine the Chinese herbs and acupuncture together to achieve the best result. 
In acute condition (within 2 weeks of onset), the herbal medicine + 1-2 acupuncture treatments will be able to improve the range of movement of frozen shoulder and alleviated the pain. 

The prognosis for early stage of frozen shoulder treating by Chinese medicine can be very good. 

However, in Chronic Condition (onset more than 3 months to years), the treatments require in a course will be more than the acute condition. 

In chronic condition, the cold pathogen will combine to another pathogens in the body and depress the immunity and energy level of the body, thus causing the poor circulation and may affecting the other part of the body (such as another shoulder or other body joints). 

The treatment to chronic frozen shoulder, Chinese herbs and acupuncture will be applied at same time (each treatment). Chinese herbs will help to dispel cold and other pathogens that cold combined to. The Acupuncture will improve the circulation and stop pain that caused by weakness of muscle tone. 

Why Chinese Herbs in necessary for treatment of Frozen shoulder
While the acupuncture is helpful to alleviated the pain and improve the circulation, but the root of the cause is the cold pathogen locked up the joint.  In Chinese medicine, the treatment to cold pathogen is by dispersing and warming up. Acupuncture is not strong enough to bring these effects. Therefore Chinese Herbs is necessary regarding to this reason. 
The Chinese herbs contain the warming property herbs that will warm up the body and disperses the cold pathogen via perspiration (re-open the pores).  

The earlier the treatment received the better the result is.