Conventional treatments for frozen shoulder are designed to manage symptoms, not to address the root cause of the problem. Here’s a breakdown of why these common approaches often fail to deliver long-term results:

Physical Therapy and Range-of-Motion Exercises focus on stretching the shoulder capsule to improve mobility, but they cannot eliminate the underlying inflammation or the abnormal blood vessels that perpetuate your pain. While you may experience temporary improvement during therapy sessions, the inflammatory process continues unchecked, causing symptoms to return.

Steroid Injections provide temporary anti-inflammatory effects by reducing swelling in the joint. However, research reveals a sobering reality: nearly 30% of patients experience treatment failure with intraarticular corticosteroid injections, requiring additional interventions or progression to surgical management within 12 months [2]. The effects are temporary because the injections don't address the neovascularization that drives the inflammatory cycle.

Pain Medications including NSAIDs, prescription painkillers, and anti-inflammatory drugs only mask the pain signals sent to your brain. While they may provide temporary symptom relief, they do nothing to resolve the underlying pathological process. You're essentially putting a band-aid on a problem that requires surgical precision to fix.

Manipulation Under Anesthesia and Surgery represent the most aggressive conventional approaches, but even these invasive procedures carry significant risks and may not address the vascular component of the disease. Studies show that even after "successful" conventional treatment, approximately 40-50% of patients experience persistent symptoms, and many retain some degree of pain and stiffness even years later.

The fundamental problem with all conventional treatments is that they are fighting a losing battle against the persistent inflammation and neovascularization that are the true culprits behind your chronic pain. Until these abnormal blood vessels are eliminated, the cycle of inflammation and pain will continue, regardless of how many treatments you try.