For years, the pain in Christine Wallace\u2019s shoulder steadily worsened. What began as a dull ache became a constant, grinding stiffness \u2013 until the retired teacher could barely lift her left arm more than an inch.<\/p>\n
Simple tasks such as getting dressed or washing her hair became an ordeal, forcing her to rely on trips to a salon. Even tending to her beloved garden was no longer possible.<\/p>\n
After tests ruled out tears or fractures, she was diagnosed with frozen shoulder \u2013 a condition affecting around one in 20 adults, in which the capsule surrounding the joint becomes inflamed and stiff, causing pain and severely restricting movement.<\/p>\n
Her life \u2013 and independence \u2013 were in tatters.<\/p>\n
Yet today, aged 78, Christine is pain-free \u2013 gardening, shopping and washing her hair whenever she likes. So what brought about this turnaround?<\/p>\n
She credits a surprising form of physical therapy \u2013 one that focused not on the site of pain, but on a completely different part of her body.<\/p>\n
The breakthrough came during a massage session targeting her left hip.<\/p>\n
Footage of the moment \u2013 when she went from barely being able to lift her arm to raising it fully above her head \u2013 has since gone viral on social media, amassing more than a million views.<\/p>\n
Shared by the chiropractor she visited, Dr Veera Gupta, the clip shows Christine demonstrating how little she can move her arm before Dr Gupta performs a vigorous massage, working up her leg from ankle to hip.<\/p>\n
The treatment appears painless \u2013 at one point Christine giggles and says she is ticklish.<\/p>\n
After a few minutes of kneading her hip, Dr Gupta asks her to lift her arm again. \u2018It\u2019s so easy,\u2019 she says, moving it above her head.<\/p>\n
The video raises a question: can applying pressure to a seemingly unrelated part of the body really reverse years of chronic pain?<\/p>\n
It may sound counterintuitive, but there is evidence that pain in one area can sometimes be influenced by problems elsewhere \u2013 a phenomenon known as referred pain.<\/p>\n
There is also growing interest in fascia \u2013 the network of connective tissue surrounding muscles and organs \u2013 and how stiffness in one area may affect movement in another, although this remains an evolving field.<\/p>\n
Christine, from Point Pleasant, New Jersey, believes her problems built up over many years.<\/p>\n
As a teacher, she spent long days leaning over desks and evenings hunched over textbooks. She lived alone, had no children, and prided herself on staying active despite the aches she put down to the job.<\/p>\n
At first, the discomfort was easy to dismiss: a twinge in her hip, tightness across her back, stiffness in her shoulders.<\/p>\n
But even after retiring, the pain did not ease. Instead, it crept into her daily life, making it increasingly difficult to live independently.<\/p>\n
Then, in 2017, she fell and landed on her shoulder. \u2018It was excruciating,\u2019 she recalled.<\/p>\n
Frozen shoulder progresses through three distinct phases: freezing, frozen and thawing. Even then full mobility may never be restored\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2026\/04\/03\/14\/107635627-15703927-Dr_Gupta_believes_in_a_whole_person_approach_releasing_stiffness-m-7_1775223443484.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nDr Gupta believes in a whole person approach, releasing stiffness in one area to improve movement in another<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
After a couple of days, the pain became unbearable and she went to hospital. Doctors reassured her nothing was broken and sent her home.<\/p>\n
But the pain worsened. She began relying on painkillers just to get through the day.<\/p>\n
\u2018I struggled to even get dressed in the mornings. I couldn\u2019t raise my arm at all \u2013 it was really scary, but I tried my best not to think about it and get on with my normal life.\u2019<\/p>\n
Over the next eight years, she underwent X-rays, scans and other tests. Doctors ruled out damage to the rotator cuff \u2013 the group of muscles and tendons that stabilise the shoulder.<\/p>\n
But every test came back clear. There were no tears and no obvious cause.<\/p>\n
Eventually, she turned to Dr Veera Gupta, a chiropractor who diagnosed frozen shoulder.<\/p>\n
Chiropractic focuses on musculoskeletal problems, often through hands-on manipulation of joints and soft tissues.<\/p>\n
While some patients report relief, evidence for its effectiveness \u2013 particularly beyond short-term pain improvement \u2013 remains mixed, and it is not routinely recommended within mainstream medicine.<\/p>\n
Dr Dean Eggitt, an NHS GP in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, says many of the benefits may be psychological.<\/p>\n
\u2018There is a large psychological component to pain,\u2019 he says. \u2018The severity of pain we experience is often mediated by our mood.<\/p>\n
\u2018So, if you can improve a patient\u2019s mood, by convincing them that a massage is going to help them recover from the injury, then this can lessen their pain.<\/p>\n
\u2018However, you\u2019re not improving the injury itself, just the way they perceive the pain.\u2019<\/p>\n
Frozen shoulder typically affects people between the ages of 40 and 60 and is more common in women.<\/p>\n
It develops gradually, with a painful \u2018freezing\u2019 phase followed by stiffness, before slowly improving over time \u2013 although recovery can take months or even years.<\/p>\n
The exact cause is often unclear, but it is thought to involve inflammation and thickening of the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint, sometimes triggered by injury, surgery or prolonged immobility.<\/p>\n
Dr Gupta says her approach is to look at the whole body, rather than focus on one \u2018problem area\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018Shoulder pain doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the problem is in the shoulder \u2013 it could be coming from elsewhere in the body,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
She believes tension built up over time in Christine\u2019s hip was affecting how her body moved as a whole.<\/p>\n
During one session, when she applied pressure to the hip, the result was immediate.<\/p>\n
\u2018When I started treating Christine, she could barely lift her arm a couple of inches \u2013 and even this was incredibly painful,\u2019 Dr Gupta recalls.<\/p>\n
As the pressure was applied, Christine was able to raise her arm fully above her head.<\/p>\n
\u2018It was like a miracle,\u2019 Christine says. \u2018I wanted to cry and hug her all at the same time.\u2019<\/p>\n
After three sessions, she had regained full movement \u2013 something she had not experienced in years.<\/p>\n
\u2018I couldn\u2019t quite believe it,\u2019 she says. \u2018I feel so lucky that I am now able to live such an active life \u2013 which I thought was gone forever.\u2019<\/p>\n
Other experts are sceptical.<\/p>\n
\u2018You can\u2019t ease a joint-related injury in the shoulder by massaging the hip,\u2019 says Dr Eggitt. \u2018It may help the perception of pain in the short term, but not in the long term.\u2019<\/p>\n
Dr Gupta stresses that recovery is not always this rapid, and most cases of frozen shoulder improve gradually over time, often with physiotherapy, exercise and pain management.<\/p>\n
Without treatment, the condition can make everyday tasks increasingly difficult and lead to muscle weakness through lack of use.<\/p>\n
The simplest advice, she says, is to keep moving \u2013 particularly through a full range of motion \u2013 and to address stiffness early, before it begins to affect other parts of the body.<\/p>\n
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