How it all began

Origins of the technique

How was this radically different approach invented?

In 1997, I began developing a novel approach to treating this condition; a 'hands-on only' method. Ever since this time, I have been engaged in researching this method and promoting my technique. It all began one day in 1997. My best friend's mother had booked in to see me with a very bad case of 'Frozen Shoulder Syndrome' (FSS). Until this case I usually declined to treat this condition. This was mainly due to the belief that the patient was wasting their money with most of the treatments available at the time; indeed FSS was hardly mentioned at college as a specific entity.

So there was Mrs X in my clinic room in raging agony. I have never really liked to treat friends or relatives, but what was I to do?

So I decided to embark on a course of treatment, explaining right from the outset that there was little hope of improving the 30-month natural history of the condition. I asked my friends and colleagues, but they didn't have any clear protocols; one colleague suggested treating patients once a month for 30 months. I turned to the text books but again there was little to be gleaned, indeed the main advice was that 'prevention' is the best treatment. So I continued treating Mrs X and after 6 or 7 sessions (several months) of kneading, stretching and prodding, she started to feel more comfortable and I really felt I was starting to make inroads.

Then over the next few weeks, I had a spate of patients suffering from FSS. This can sometimes happen, but considering I used to see FSS fairly infrequently I was a little surprised.

Since I had taken on Mrs X as a patient, I decided to take on the other sufferers also. There were nine in total and I remember them all. All had a similar pattern of limited shoulder movement, and many were in extreme pain. Most of them had already tried steroid injections and physical therapy, both having little or no effect. Several of them were desperate for anything that might help. I tried out a variety of techniques. I tried gently pushing the shoulder through the barriers/blockages but I found this was both painful and counter-productive. I tried muscle energy and counter strain techniques but these seemed to have the reverse effect from what I expected. I tried manipulating the neck and upper spine bone, using deep myofascial soft tissue techniques to the neck and shoulder muscles, but all with little or no discernable benefit. There was no doubt, the more I treated FSS, the more of a puzzle it became.

The 'eureka' moment came unannounced! A patient came back for his third session and reported a big increase in motion and reduced pain. I remember feeling a little excited, as he was very enthusiastic about this. The application of prolonged, specific pressure to a muscle in the shoulder is what I felt had helped him; and it started from there. I performed this manoeuvre on the other patients with alacrity and it seemed to have a significant effect. My curiosity was aroused when it became clear that for some of these cases, the range of motion improved over 30 degrees from the beginning to the end of the session! So I invested in a goniometer and designed my first (of many) case history forms with boxes to measure the passive ROM. This technique was the beginning of the process, it seemed to lift the spasm out of the shoulder muscles, but it was not enough on its own. I continued to develop my method over the following years. Critically, I was invited to participate in a clinical trial at Addenbrokes hospital in 1999-2002 comparing my technique to standard physiotherapy and 'placebo'. The outcome for my technique was very favourable. I have now developed a training programme for therapists, and a self-help book/DVD and exercise programme for patients.