Scapular Mobilization Versus Capsular Stretch

Frozen shoulder is a musculoskeletal condition that is commonly encountered in physical therapy practice. It is characterized by a painful, gradual loss of both active and passive glenohumeral motion resulting from progressive fibrosis and ultimate contracture of the glenohumeral joint capsule. Frozen shoulder affects about 2% of the general population, with a higher prevalence in people between their 40s and 60s. Frozen shoulder occurs more in diabetic patient. The traditional principles of treatment of frozen shoulder are to relieve pain, maintain range of motion, and ultimately to restore function. The physiotherapy treatment of frozen shoulder consists of different modalities such as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Interferential Therapy (IFT), Ultrasound, Short Wave Diathermy (SWD) etc., and the physical therapy exercises such as stretching, Codman exercise can be used. Scapular-mobility exercises, or scapular-mobilization (SM) techniques is widely used in the management of musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder. Scapular mobilization can cause pain reduction with improvement in the shoulder range of motion. Scapular mobilization can reduce the disability in patients with shoulder dysfunction. Posterior capsular stretch is applied along with mobilization which causes significant improvement in increasing range of motion and functional disability. Capsular stretching showed a more significant reduction in pain when compared to general exercises. Therefore, what are the possible effect of scapular mobilization versus posterior capsular stretch in treating patients with frozen shoulder?