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Orthopedics 206 — at a Glance
| Course: | Frozen Shoulder Evaluation · 2 PACE-approved CE hours |
| Faculty: | Michael Hall, DC, FIACN · Neurology and Orthopedics Faculty, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Frozen shoulder — adhesive capsulitis — is the stiff, painful shoulder that defies the usual timeline, resists standard care and gets misdiagnosed as a rotator cuff problem for months. Orthopedics 206 is the evaluation course: who gets it and why, the freezing, frozen and thawing phases, the orthopedic tests, neurological screening and imaging that separate it from cuff pathology, glenohumeral arthritis and cervical radiculopathy, and the newer neurological perspective on why it becomes so recalcitrant.
Dr. Michael Hall opens with epidemiology — the prevalence, the diabetic and thyroid risk groups, the immobilized shoulder — then runs the traditional evaluation: the Apley scratch test, Neer and Hawkins-Kennedy maneuvers, passive range of motion with its capsular pattern, and radiographic, MR arthrography and ultrasound findings read in context. The second half is the ortho/neuro lens: altered sensorimotor integration, cortical reorganization and sympathetic involvement as contributors to chronicity, and what that means for a chiropractor’s evaluation and co-management.
Choose Your Orthopedics Path — Three Lanes, One Curriculum
The Orthopedics library — twenty-six courses by five CCEDseminars faculty: John Riggs III, MBA, DC, DIANM; Steven Yeomans, DC, FACO; Michael Hall, DC, FIACN; Dennis O’Hara, DC, DACBSP; and Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — organizes into three working lanes: trace the nerve, evaluate the joint, and catch the presentations that change management. Orthopedics 201–224 together form the 48-hour Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO). Two hours each.
1 · Gut, Microbiome, Digestion and Detoxification
Dr. Riggs’ designed three-course sequence — the entrapment map from the shoulder girdle to the tarsal tunnel: median, ulnar and radial nerve entrapments of the upper limb, the thoracic outlet and scapular syndromes, piriformis, meralgia paresthetica, peroneal and tarsal tunnel — plus the athlete’s stinger.
201: Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
202: Trunk & Upper Extremity Entrapment Syndromes
203: Nerve Entrapments of the Pelvis and Lower Extremities
221: Burner Syndrome
2 · Brain, Mood, Stress and the Nervous System
Regional evaluation and management down the kinetic chain — the joints your schedule is made of: the rotator cuff and the frozen shoulder, the neck-and-shoulder file, the hip, plica syndrome at the knee, the foot and ankle, Achilles tendinitis, the chronically unstable ankle, and the stress fracture that hides as focal pain. You are here: Orthopedics 206.
204: Rotator Cuff Syndrome
206: Frozen Shoulder Evaluation
212: The Neck & Shoulder
215: Orthopedic Conditions of the Foot and Ankle
216: Plica Syndrome
217: Achilles Tendinitis
218: The Floppy Ankle
219: The Hip
225: Stress Fractures
3 · Musculoskeletal, Immune, Hormonal and Clinical Conditions
Stability testing, functional assessment and the presentations that demand recognition — cervical instability and position sense, cauda equina, dropped head syndrome, cervicovagopathy, gait and the lumbar spine, the Romberg sign and flexibility benchmarks — plus the chronic pain, inflammation and breathing science underneath.
205: Cervical Spine Instability: The How-To
207: Finger to Floor & Sit-n-Reach
208: Managing Chronic Pain
209: The Romberg Sign
210: Inflammatory Properties of Contained and Non-Contained Disc Disease
211: Cervical Position Sense Testing
213: Coronal Plane Movement & Neuroplasticity
214: Cauda Equina & Lumbar Radiculopathy
220: Cervicovagopathy
222: Dropped Head Syndrome
223: Chronic Inflammation and Close Relationships
224: Breathe — Mouth Breathing and Health
226: Gait & the Lumbar Spine
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane. The full 26-course catalog continues on the Orthopedics category page.
What You’ll Learn in Orthopedics 206
Review the evaluation process of the frozen shoulder, including clinical presentation and assessment tools.
Discuss the epidemiology and prevalence of adhesive capsulitis across patient populations.
Outline orthopedic considerations including provocation tests, imaging findings and differential diagnosis.
Outline considerations in functional neurology and how emerging perspectives inform chiropractic management.
Your Orthopedics Faculty
Michael Hall, DC, FIACN — instructor of this course. Board-certified chiropractic neurologist and Fellow of the International Academy of Chiropractic Neurology, founder of BrainDC.org, with more than 30 years of clinical and academic experience. He teaches 16 of the 26 courses in the CCEDseminars Orthopedics library and brings the ortho/neuro lens to joint and spine evaluation — here, the frozen shoulder from its freezing, frozen and thawing phases through orthopedic testing and imaging to the functional-neurology perspective on why it becomes so stubborn.
Full bio and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Orthopedics CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Orthopedics coursework is clinical subject matter — examination, diagnosis and case management — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state’s guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Orthopedics Block — or Take the Credential
Every course in the Orthopedics series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — any ten courses from the series is 20 hours, which clears the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400, with no promo codes. Frozen Shoulder Evaluation pairs naturally with Orthopedics 204 on rotator cuff syndrome and Orthopedics 212 on the neck and shoulder; the three together make a 6-hour shoulder block and reach the 10% tier. Pursuing the credential? The Clinical Chiropractic Orthopedics Certification (CCO) packages Orthopedics 201–224 — 48 hours — in a single $960 checkout. Browse Orthopedics Courses
Orthopedics 206 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Orthopedics 206 cover?
Orthopedics 206 covers frozen shoulder evaluation for chiropractors: the classification, epidemiology and phases of adhesive capsulitis, the traditional orthopedic evaluation with provocation tests, neurological screening and imaging, differential diagnosis from rotator cuff pathology, glenohumeral arthritis and cervical radiculopathy, and the functional-neurology perspective on chronicity. Also known as the adhesive capsulitis course, the stiff shoulder course, or the frozen shoulder differential diagnosis course.
How do I tell frozen shoulder from a rotator cuff problem?
The capsular pattern is the tell: adhesive capsulitis restricts passive external rotation and abduction, and the loss is present with the patient relaxed, whereas cuff pathology tends to preserve passive motion and hurt on resisted testing. The course covers the examination sequence, the imaging that confirms the picture, and the cervical and arthritic mimics that also need to be ruled out.
Why does a frozen shoulder take so long to get better?
Partly because the capsule itself thickens and contracts through a freezing, frozen and thawing sequence that can run a year or more, and partly — the newer perspective — because the nervous system reorganizes around the painful, immobile joint. Dr. Hall covers both, and the second is why chiropractors with neurological training have an expanding role in evaluation and co-management.
How is this different from Orthopedics 204, Rotator Cuff Syndrome?
They are companion shoulder courses. Orthopedics 204 is the rotator cuff — impingement, tendinopathy and tears with testing, imaging and rehabilitation. Orthopedics 206 is the stiff shoulder of adhesive capsulitis, its evaluation and the reasons it becomes chronic. Take both to separate the two most common painful shoulders in practice.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Orthopedics series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Orthopedics 206 sits in the joint-by-joint lane of the Orthopedics series with Dr. Michael Hall, alongside Orthopedics 204 (Rotator Cuff Syndrome), 212 (The Neck & Shoulder), 219 (The Hip) and 218 (The Floppy Ankle).
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Orthopedics 206?
The stiff shoulder that will not follow the rules deserves a better evaluation than another round of cuff exercises. Two hours here give you the phases, the tests, the imaging and the neurological perspective to get the diagnosis right.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)