The shoulder: Isolated Anterior Capsular Contracture

Technique:

The patient lies supine and relaxed, the arm by the side.
The therapist stands at the affected side and takes the inner side of the elbow with his ipsilateral hand, his forearm against the forearm of the patient. The other hand takes hold of the shoulder.
The arm is slightly abducted to about 45° and then gently rotated until the endfeel is reached.
Slight overpressure pushes the elbow towards the table in the same way as for stretching in arthritis: the amount of force used depends on the endfeel and the increase in pain.
It is important not to provoke muscular resistance. The endfeel should be ligamentous-capsular.

"Stretching" is not a manipulation, and any tendency to jerk should be avoided.
The manoeuvre is done by a continuous pressure gently intensified for a few seconds,
then slackened off slightly for a little while and increased again.
This manoeuvre is repeated a few times and is followed by a full rest in which the arm
is brought in neutral position.
Stretching is repeated several times during one session (about ten to fifteen minutes)