I play squash three or four times a week and have been playing for the past 30 years. (I'm now 55.) Last week I was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder in my non-playing arm, and want to know more about it. Can you help me?

--jay

Hmm, let's see. A frozen shoulder, eh? Since my first instinct was to tell you to defrost it, I thought I better refer this one to a physical therapist pal of mine.

As he explained it, a frozen shoulder is essentially a shoulder with less than normal range of motion. It can be caused by a whole host of problems: scar tissue and chronic inflammation and inactivity to name a couple. A lot of obstetricians have this condition since they keep their arms low while delivering babies.

The treatment is simple. A physical therapist uses a mobilization technique called passive motion, gently assisting the joint through its range of motion without forcing it. Mobility should increase noticeably from one session to the next.

The recovery rate is very high (with therapy) and after about six weeks of twice weekly treatment the patient is usually ready to work on his/her own. Flexibility and strengthening exercises are recommended for self-treatment.

One thing you might consider (after completing therapy) is hitting some backhands and forehands with your non-playing arm. Practicing backhands helps me keep myself square to the side wall and prevents me from opening up my shoulders to the front wall on my forehand side when playing. Some volleys with your non-dominant side ought to keep the rust from creeping back into that shoulder.

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