Does cortisone injection treat frozen shoulder?

Frozen shoulder, also called adhesive capsulitis, causes pain and tightening of the capsule around the shoulder joint. Reaching overhead, behind your back, or across your body may become difficult. Cortisone placed around or into the shoulder joint can calm inflammation and pain, particularly when pain is preventing sleep or gentle exercises. The shoulder can remain stiff after pain improves, so an injection is usually one part of a broader plan rather than a stand-alone solution. The stage of the condition and your examination guide the choice.

Keep the shoulder moving within a tolerable range, but avoid forcing a sharp or escalating pain. A physiotherapist can teach controlled stretches and help pace them across the day. Heat before movement may feel soothing for some people, while a cool pack after activity may settle soreness. If an injection is considered, ask whether it will be guided, what temporary effects to expect, and when to begin or resume exercises. Progress is often gradual, so track useful changes such as easier dressing or reaching.

Arrange medical review when shoulder pain or stiffness is limiting sleep, dressing, work, or basic reaching. Seek prompt care after an injection for spreading redness, increasing warmth or swelling, severe worsening pain, fever, or feeling unwell. New arm weakness, persistent numbness, chest discomfort, or shoulder pain after a significant injury requires urgent assessment rather than assuming it is frozen shoulder.

Ask which stage of frozen shoulder you may be in, whether the injection targets pain or stiffness, how it fits with physiotherapy, when exercises should start, and what symptoms should trigger a follow-up.