You Thought It Was Frozen Shoulder, but It Might Not Be

If you've been stretching for months and nothing has changed

Key points in 30 seconds

1. When your shoulder hurts and your arm won't go up, people often think, "It must be frozen shoulder." But at least three shoulder problems look the same.
2. Frozen shoulder needs the stiffness released, while a torn tendon shouldn't be stretched carelessly. The treatments can go in opposite directions.
3. If your arm won't go up even when someone else lifts it, it's more likely frozen shoulder. If it goes up when lifted but you can't raise it yourself, it's more likely the tendon.
4. If severe pain flared up suddenly one day, we first think of calcium deposits.
5. But these are guesses, not a diagnosis. Some shoulders have two problems at once, so we confirm with an exam and imaging.

What we often hear

• "I thought it was frozen shoulder and stretched hard, but it turned out my tendon was torn."
• "I spent months going easy on my shoulder, and it was frozen shoulder."
• "I've been doing exercises for months, and nothing has changed."
• "What am I doing wrong?"

The first case was forcing a torn tendon to stretch, and the second was the shoulder getting stiffer while being spared.

Both people worked hard, but in the wrong direction.

They look the same, but there are three

One: frozen shoulder

A condition where the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint stiffens.

After the painful stage, the joint itself stiffens as if locked, and the arm won't go up in any direction.

Treatment goes toward releasing and widening the stiffness.

Two: a torn tendon

The tendons that move the shoulder are damaged or torn.

The joint isn't stiff, so the arm goes up when someone else lifts it. But when you try to lift it yourself, you lose strength or it hurts at a certain angle.

Depending on how badly it's torn, forcing it to stretch can actually do harm.

That's why the treatment used for a stiff shoulder shouldn't be applied as-is to a torn tendon.

Three: calcium deposits

Calcium builds up in the tendon.

It's usually quiet, then suddenly one night it hurts so badly you think about going to the emergency room.

It's neither stiffness nor a tear, so it's yet another path.

Something you can try at home

One: does your arm go all the way up when someone else lifts it?

• If it gets stuck hard at a certain point even when lifted → the joint is stiff, more likely frozen shoulder
• If it goes up when lifted but you can't raise it yourself → more likely the tendon

Two: is turning your arm outward especially hard?

Try turning your arm outward, like turning a key. If this is clearly limited, it's a feature of frozen shoulder.

Three: did the pain come on gradually, or suddenly?

• It stiffened gradually → more likely frozen shoulder
• It started after a fall or lifting something heavy → a torn tendon
• It was fine, then suddenly hurt badly in the middle of the night → calcium deposits

Here's the most important thing

These clues are guesses, not a diagnosis.

In reality, some shoulders have two problems at once. When a tendon has been torn for a long time, the shoulder can stiffen because of it and look like frozen shoulder.

Because the treatment is completely different depending on which it is, it has to be confirmed with an exam and imaging.

At the first visit, we measure how lifting your arm yourself differs from someone else lifting it and how far it turns outward, and if we suspect the tendon, we check in partnership with the radiology clinic on the 2nd floor of the same building before deciding on the direction.

Before calling it frozen shoulder, check whether it really is. That's the first principle of our shoulder care.

Once it's confirmed, the paths split

If it's frozen shoulder, we start by getting the night pain under control, then widen the stiff range of motion step by step.

If the tendon seems damaged, finding out how badly comes first, so we refer you to the care you need, and we also deal with the pain and related problems that we can take on.

Either way, we measure the angle before treatment and compare by numbers.

What we're aiming for

Direction matters more than effort.

If you've been stretching for months and your shoulder hasn't changed, it may not be that you're not trying hard enough, but that it's time to check whether you're going in the right direction.

How much you improve varies from person to person depending on the cause and how long it's been stiff. But the first step is always the same: knowing exactly what it is.

Take a moment to check whether the shoulder exercises you're doing now are going in the right direction for your shoulder.

For questions or appointments, message us in English through the messenger at the bottom right of the page, or call +82-53-716-1175.

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We've summarized the course of frozen shoulder and the evidence on treatment in the director's column They say frozen shoulder heals if you just leave it, and shoulder pain that wakes you at night in If Shoulder Pain Wakes You Up at Night.