This fall, don't let your shoulders get cold

Frozen Shoulder, Ugh.

Frequently affecting women between 40-60 years of age (lucky us!), frozen shoulder is a condition where your shoulder literally becomes frozen from movement due to scar tissue building around the shoulder joint. And it's actually quite common, with women with diabetes, those who keep their arms still for a time (usually due to injury), and those with Parkinson's or thyroid disorders at higher risk. I currently have at least four clients who have experienced it.

It happens in three stages: the first is the starting-to-freeze and ugly painful stage where the shoulder hurts and range of motion starts to become limited. Next is the locked-in-and-completely-frozen stage, where scar tissue builds up, coating your joints and causing you to become unable to move your shoulder. The pain is typically less intense during this stage, but you know... you still can't move it, which is less than ideal to say the least. And then, finally, the final stage is where movement starts to come back, much slower than you would like. 

It can take up to 4 years to move through all three stages. Definitely a condition you'd be best to avoid.

Doing so looks like this: keep your joints mobile and active - exercise, lifting, stretching, and large arm circles as you chase your grand/children around all help. Secondly, maintaining good posture is key: roll your shoulders back, briefly scrunch your shoulder blades together, lift your head/neck, and relax into that pose. And finally, try to work against tech neck (where you're hunched over the computer/phone/tablet screen): Remember to regularly stretch your upper back and shoulders if you're at a computer for a long time. 

Listed below are exercises for frozen shoulder - but these are also great to get in the habit of doing BEFORE you're at risk of frozen shoulder.