--- title: "Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness | Sutter Health" description: "What kinds of treatment options are there for shoulder stiffness?" url: "/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253" --- 1. Home / 2. Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness # Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness * * * Medically reviewed by - Arfan Din, D.O. ## Question What kinds of treatment options are there for shoulder stiffness? ## Answer Generally, shoulder stiffness is a condition medically known as adhesive capsulitis. Shoulder movement is stiff, painful or limited. This is considered a chronic condition. Usually it starts with some injury or overuse. Essentially, after this relatively minor injury, internal scar tissue can form. Conditions such as diabetes makes this scar formation much worse. The best treatment is motion. To assist with this motion, a cortisone injection can help, and then movement directed by a physical therapist. It may take many months to cure this condition, so work closely with your doctor to make sure that you are making progress. If not, you might then need to see an orthopedic surgeon to have this manipulation of the shoulder done under sedation. ## Explore related topics ShoulderBones, joints and muscles ## Meet our care team Arfan Din, D.O. Family Medicine ## Related questions View all questions - Health Q&A ### Rotator Cuff Injury and Treatment My left arm at the shoulder hurts all the time (including lifting things and even when I'm sleeping and turn on that side). I don't recall hurting it in any way. It started hurting several months ago. What could it be and how can I make it stop? - Health Q&A ### Shoulder Dislocation Pain I dislocated my shoulder last year. I kept it in a sling for a few weeks, and then went through physical therapy. It has started to hurt again. I exercise regularly, but try to be careful of not reinjuring it. Anything I can do to prevent this pain? - Health Q&A ### ACL Tear or Arthritis in Knee? I had an X-ray and MRI on my right knee for severe pain. The radiologist said there was an ACL tear, but my doctor attributed it to arthritis. I don't have swelling and the pain is intermittent. If it were arthritis, wouldn't I have other symptoms? - Health Q&A ### Achilles Tendonitis What's the fastest way to recover from Achilles tendonitis? I have a case of insertional tendonitis, and it's been six weeks since I've been able to run. I'd like to get back to my activities. - Health Q&A ### Ankle Rehabilitation After Injuries I have fractured my ankle multiple times. Do you have any suggestions for exercises that would strengthen this area? View all questions ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness"}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalWebPage","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253#medicalwebpage","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253","name":"Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness","description":"Generally, shoulder stiffness is a condition medically known as adhesive capsulitis.","inLanguage":"en-US","medicalAudience":{"@type":"MedicalAudience","audienceType":"Patient"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253#breadcrumblist"},"mainEntity":{"@type":"Question","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253#question","name":"Treatment Options for Shoulder Stiffness","text":"What kinds of treatment options are there for shoulder stiffness?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/ask-an-expert/answers/treatment-options-for-shoulder-stiffness-1051061253#answer","text":"Generally, shoulder stiffness is a condition medically known as adhesive capsulitis. Shoulder movement is stiff, painful or limited. This is considered a chronic condition. Usually it starts with some injury or overuse. Essentially, after this relatively minor injury, internal scar tissue can form. Conditions such as diabetes makes this scar formation much worse. The best treatment is motion. To assist with this motion, a cortisone injection can help, and then movement directed by a physical therapist. It may take many months to cure this condition, so work closely with your doctor to make sure that you are making progress. 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