Frozen Shoulder
Treatment
in Clairemont
A shoulder that has stopped going where you send it. Call for a same-day time, find out which stage you are in, and work from there.
Office hours Mon and Wed 9 to 2, Tue and Thu 1 to 6, Fri 9 to 1.
Mon and Wed 9 to 2. Tue and Thu 1 to 6. Fri 9 to 1. Closed weekends.
Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is a thickening of the capsule that surrounds the shoulder joint.
Who you'll see
A frozen shoulder is a joint problem and a compensation problem at once. When the shoulder stops moving, the neck, upper back and ribs take over its work. Months of that produces a second complaint on top of the first. Care here addresses both.
Dr. Yossi Stein worked as an EMT and a ski patroller before chiropractic. His father, Dr. Richard Stein, founded the practice in San Diego in 1991.
- 1991
- Founded in San Diego by Dr. Richard Stein
- Before chiropractic
- EMT and ski patroller
- Solo practice
- The chiropractor who examines you is the one who treats you
Limited in every direction, or limited in one
Several separate shoulder problems all arrive feeling like stiffness. What sets a capsule apart is how the restriction is distributed.
When the capsule thickens, every direction gives way together, and turning the arm outward is usually the first to go. Other shoulder problems tend to take one motion and leave the rest available.
Reaching behind your back is the motion most people notice first, though it is rarely the one that has changed most. The exam measures each direction actively and passively, compares sides, and that comparison is what separates the two. Other shoulder presentations are covered on our shoulder pain page.
Just before Thanksgiving, even though his office was closed and I had never seen him before, Dr. Stein came into the office and opened it just to help me. I have a lower-back issue that many chiropractors struggle to address, but Dr. Stein is able to adjust it effectively every time. He has also helped me tremendously with a frozen shoulder.
Paul A. Google review
Where you are in it decides what care does
Frozen shoulder runs a long arc, described in three stages, and traditionally put at one to two years from start to finish.
Freezing
Pain arrives first and motion narrows behind it. Nights are usually the worst of it, and reaching starts to cost something.
Care works to hold the range that is still there, and to keep the neck and upper back from quietly absorbing the shoulder's work.
Frozen
The ache often settles while the stiffness sets. The shoulder stops going where you send it, in every direction.
Graded joint mobilization works the range the shoulder tolerates, with Active Release Technique (ART) for the muscles that have shortened around it.
Thawing
Motion returns gradually, and the shoulder starts feeling like yours again.
Care supports the range as it comes back. Adjustments restore motion in the neck, upper back and ribs that covered for the shoulder while it was stuck.
The older description had frozen shoulder resolving on its own once the arc finished. More recent evidence finds that motion can stay limited when it is left alone, which is the reason the stage you start at matters. There is a fuller account in our post on how chiropractic care restores motion in frozen shoulder.
What a first visit includes
About twenty minutes, and you leave knowing where the shoulder stands.
- Every direction measured
- Overhead, out to the side, turning the arm outward and reaching behind. Moved by you, then moved for you, with both shoulders compared.
- The history that matters here
- Any period the arm was kept still, a surgery, a fracture, a sling, and what the shoulder could do before all of it.
- What the neck and upper back took on
- The segments and ribs that have been covering for the shoulder are examined in the same visit.
- A plain explanation
- What the exam found, which stage it points to, and what care would involve from here.
- Care the same visit
- When care is the right call it begins then, at the range the shoulder tolerates, and you leave knowing what to do between visits.
Nothing is asked of you beforehand. No referral, no pre-authorization, no forms to file afterward. First visits are scheduled. Call and a time is held for you, often the same day. Book online and we'll confirm your time. After that, walk in whenever we're open.
I had an amazing experience with Dr.Stein. Dr.Stein was knowledgeable and took time explaining the treatments and what causes my discomfort. The adjustment I got over time were very helpful and it helped with my shoulder and back over time. Now I come in to maintenance every few weeks. I recommend Dr.Stein to anyone!
Souvia A. Google review
Before you come in
Is it safe to work on a shoulder this stiff?
Yes, when the work is matched to the stage. Mobilization is graded to the range the shoulder tolerates rather than pushed past it, and the exam sets that range before anything begins.
Where a shoulder should not be worked on at all, we will say so.
Do I need imaging or a specialist first?
No. Frozen shoulder is established through history and examination, and imaging is generally used to rule other things out rather than to confirm it.
Bring any imaging you already have. We have written about whether you need X-rays to get adjusted.
What does a first visit cost?
$150That covers the exam and care the same visit when care is the right call. We don't bill insurance. HSA and FSA cards are accepted.
A shoulder like this usually runs as a course of visits, and the monthly option is on our membership page. If the exam shows this isn't something we should be treating, there's no charge for the visit.
Some situations call for hospital-level evaluation first. If you're unsure, call and we'll help you route correctly.
A year is a long time to guess
Waiting turns into small workarounds: the arm you use for the seatbelt, the side you sleep on, the shelf you stopped reaching for. An exam puts a stage on it and tells you what there is to work with.
5450 F Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92117. Complimentary parking out front.
This guy has helped my 250-lb body so many times. I've had back pain, a shoulder injury, and even a few calf injuries — and Dr. Stein fixed every single one of them
Nikola M. Google review