Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis (adhesion of shoulder joint capsules), is in fact a general name for movement restriction of the shoulder. If you are experiencing difficulty in moving your hand towards your head, your other shoulder, or your back, this means that your shoulder movements are restricted and you have the early signs of the frozen shoulder syndrome. Frozen shoulder syndrome is sneaky and turns severe in time while it also takes a long while to recover from.

Symptoms of Frozen Shoulder

The most important symptom of the frozen shoulder syndrome is restriction of motion. Shoulder motions are restricted at all angles and it is difficult to reach your back, touch your head, comb your hair. Another symptom is pain and it may get severe and even wake patients up from their sleep. Frozen shoulder syndrome is a long-lasting ailment and develops in three stages during this time. As it progresses, pain becomes more bearable yet motion restriction increases.

What Causes the Frozen Shoulder?

There is no known and definite cause of frozen shoulder. Shoulder inflammations can have many causes. Arthritis, straining in the attachment points of shoulder muscles, inflammation of the tendons, diabetes, rheumatic diseases are some of the major causes. Joint injuries and immobility after arm surgery can also result in frozen shoulder. However, frozen shoulder syndrome can also develop without any particular reason.

Diagnosis of the Frozen Shoulder Syndrome

Frozen shoulder can be easily diagnosed in a physical examination. During the examination, you will be asked to lift up your arms sideways and to extend them forth and backwards. In this way, the physician will test your active motion range and capability. The physician will then move your arms himself to check passive motion capability. After the arm motion detection test, the physician examines the shoulder by pushing down on specific points on your shoulder to find the source of pain. Difficulty in moving shoulders, pain, and stiffness are telling signs of frozen shoulder syndrome and the diagnosis does not require radiological examination. MRI scan may be required, however, if the physician suspects an accompanying shoulder problem.

Treatment of Frozen Shoulder

Surgery is not necessarily required for frozen shoulder treatment. Medication therapy is often the first option. If this fails, physiotherapy or in-joint injections can be considered and some cases may necessitate cortisone injections. Patients should not let the shoulder rest and are strongly advised to continue using the shoulder. Shoulder exercises can be helpful. If healing is not achieved despite all non-surgical methods and continuous treatment programmes, there is a high probability that shoulder joint capsules are experiencing extreme shrinkage. In this case, patients are advised to undergo arthroscopic surgery. Shoulder arthroscopy aims at resolving motion restriction problems by releasing the pressure on problematic structures with the help of a camera and treatment instruments inserted through small incisions on the shoulder. Patients should follow shoulder exercises after surgery to complete the treatment. For more information on arthroscopic surgery, please refer to our article on shoulder arthroscopy.