A 12-Week Tailored Manual Therapy and Home Stretching Program Based on Level of Irritability and Range of Motion Impairments in Patients With Primary Frozen Shoulder Contracture Syndrome: A Case Series With 9-Months Follow-Up

Study Design Case series. Background Manual therapy has been demonstrated to reduce pain and improve function in patients with frozen shoulder contracture syndrome (FSCS), but no evidence exists to support one form of manual therapy over another. The purpose of this case series was to describe both short and long-term outcomes after a manual therapy program and home stretching exercises based on specific impairments in shoulder mobility and level of tissue irritability in patients with FSCS. Case Description Eleven patients with primary FSCS were treated with an individually tailored multimodal manual therapy approach once weekly for 12 visits coupled with home stretching exercises once a day, five days per week. Pain, disability, range of motion (ROM) and muscle strength of the affected shoulder were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, 6-months and 9-months. Outcomes Significant improvements in self-reported pain, disability, shoulder ROM (active abduction and active abduction with overpressure, active...