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I've been going to physical therapy for my frozen shoulder. The shoulder hurts a lot and doesn't seem to be improving. What are my options for treatment?

Doctors generally prefer to try conservative treatments before using more aggressive forms of treatment. When symptoms don't improve with physical therapy, doctors may recommend an injection into the shoulder joint. The injection is typically a steroid medicine, a painkiller, or both. Filling the joint with medicine helps with inflammation and pain. It also stretches the tight joint capsule. Resuming physical therapy soon after the injection enhances the benefits of the shoulder stretches you do in therapy.

If symptoms continue and shoulder motion still does not improve, your doctor may recommend a treatment called manipulation under anesthesia. This procedure is done by forcefully stretching the tight shoulder of a patient who is asleep from anesthesia.

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