Background: Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) is a painful and disabling condition characterized by progressive loss of shoulder motion and functional limitation, with higher incidence among individuals aged 50–70 years and those with diabetes mellitus and sedentary lifestyle. Conservative physiotherapy, including manual therapy and therapeutic exercises, is the primary management approach ^[1]

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Maitland mobilization with therapeutic exercises versus proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) with therapeutic exercises in improving pain, range of motion (ROM), and performance-based function in patients with adhesive capsulitis.

Materials and Methods: A randomized comparative study was conducted on 34 patients (age 35– 50 years) diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis and fulfilling specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants were randomly allocated into Group A (Maitland mobilization plus therapeutic exercises, n=17) and Group B (PNF plus therapeutic exercises, n=17). Both groups received treatment 5 days per week for 8 weeks, 45 minutes per session. Outcome measures included Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, goniometric ROM (external rotation, abduction, internal rotation), and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) assessed pretreatment, at 4 weeks, and at 8 weeks. Data were analyzed using paired and unpaired t-tests with significance set at p<0.05.

Results: Both groups showed significant within-group improvements in pain, ROM, and SPADI scores at 8 weeks. Between-group analysis revealed greater pain reduction in the Maitland group (VAS change 3.20±0.69) compared with the PNF group (1.99±0.35: p=0.0001). External rotation improved by 50.12°±8.34° in the Maitland group versus 24.76°±7.77° in the PNF group (p=0.0001), while abduction increased by 43.71°±15.03° versus 22.06°±10.43°, respectively (p=0.0001). Internal rotation changes were not significantly different between groups (p=0.3803). SPADI improvement was significantly greater in the Maitland group (27.15±4.26) than in the PNF group (14.53±2.32: p=0.0001).