A frozen shoulder may or may not be associated with pain in the shoulder. Initial pain and tenderness may resolve and leave the shoulder with painless but limited range of motion. The scarring of the shoulder joint capsule may limit the ability to move the shoulder fully in all directions. The limitation is usually most apparent when attempting to move the elbow completely away from the body.

Symptoms and Signs of Frozen Shoulder in TCM
1. Syndrome of Wind-Cold Invasion
Main symptoms: dull pain, numbness of limb, cold in the local part, pain relieved after massage, difficult to move the arm, white coating, floating pulse.

2. Syndrome of Stagnation of Cold-Damp
Main symptoms: shoulder pain, wandering pain, aggravation at night, difficult to move arm, numbness in the shoulder, aversion to cold, white tongue coating, slip pulse.

3. Syndrome of Meridian Blockage due to Blood Stasis
Main symptoms: fixed pain, severe pain in the affected area, swelling in the local area, dark and purple tongue coating, slip pulse.