Topical Rubs Can Give Frozen Shoulder Pain Relief

While it's true that topical rubs such as Icy Hot, Biofreeze, etc... only provide short-term relief for frozen shoulder pain sufferers, they do have their place in the treatment of adhesive capsulitis, provided the patient has a targeted program and only uses it as an adjunct to treatment.

These or similar rubs work basically by irritating the skin, giving the recipient a warming sensation. This warming sensation is then translated by the brain into pain relief. This is known as the "pain gate" phenomenon and basically means that certain pain pathways in the peripheral nervous system can only process a certain amount of pain signals at any given time. After that, the "gate" is shut off to further pain signals in that pathway.

Think of it this way, if you have a headache and someone suddenly stomps on your toe, your headache is suddenly gone and the focus of pain is now on your freshly stomped toe. Same thing with topical rubs: Shoulder pain present? Rub in Biofreeze... ointment irritates the skin and therefore pushing a large amount of "irritant" pain signals to the brain, overriding the shoulder pain signals, and subsequently PAIN RELIEF!

Now there are certain rubs that are more effective at generating the amount of "heat" than others. A little research and experimentation will help you decide although I have found Biofreeze to be very effective for patients.

Even the best frozen shoulder exercise programs needs a boost, and often the answer can be found in the wide variety of ointments available on the market today. Don't fall for pitches that state a particular product "goes deeper" than another product, as this simply isn't true. NO topical ointment can penetrate past the dermal layers into the muscle, and thank GOD for this because then you're talking some SERIOUS pain. Therefore do not consider a higher cost product necessarily more effective.