Frozen Shoulder

Frozen Shoulder is a pain or stiffness in the shoulder typically arising after a period of enforced immobility such as when recovering from a fracture of the arm or shoulder, from a stroke or from an operation such as a Mastectomy. Adhesive Capsulitis is the medical term for the condition. People over the age of 40 are more prone to suffering from it than are younger people. For some reason women seem to be more prone to it than men.
A capsule of connective tissue encases the ligaments, tendons and bones that make up the shoulder. This sometimes tightens and hardens. Frozen Shoulder results.
People who have or have had certain illnesses are also more at risk of getting it. These include diabetes, Parkinson disease, Cardiovascular problems, or an over or under active thyroid.

Symptoms

Frozen Shoulder generally evolves over three stages, each of which can last for several months:

Stage 1 – Any movement of the shoulder results in pain.
Stage 2 – The pain becomes less but greater stiffness is felt.
Stage 3 – The situation gradually improves.

If Frozen Shoulder recurs, it usually does so on the same shoulder, but it can also arise on the other shoulder.

Treatments

Treatment for frozen shoulders tend to involve pain management and trying to improve your range of motion in the shoulder. You can take medication, do physical therapy or, if the situation needs it, surgery or other procedures.

Medication

When it comes to pain management, over-the-counter products such as aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc) can aid in reducing the pain that comes from a frozen shoulder. It’s possible to receive prescription of pain-relief and anti-inflammatory drugs from your doctor which are much stronger.

Therapy

With a couple of exercises given to you by a physical therapist, you can improve your range of motion in your frozen shoulder. Visiting a physical therapist can recover lots of mobility in your shoulder. You will have to commit to these exercises to gain the most out of them and continue to widen your range of motion and help to stretch the tissue around the joint. Physical therapy is a great way to broaden movement with your shoulder and slowly recover. Take pain relief while doing your physical therapy to reduce the pain that comes with it.

Surgical and Other Procedures

Most frozen shoulders can get better on their own with the help of medication and physical therapy in only twelve to eighteen months. If you continue to have symptoms, there may be some procedures that your doctor will suggest:

Steroid injection — It might be that you need to get corticosteroids injected into your shoulder joint in order to decrease the pain and give more mobility to your shoulder. This is usually done early in the process.
Joint distension — to move the joint easier you can get an injection of sterile water into the joint capsule which will stretch the tissue.
Shoulder manipulation — this procedure helps to loosen the tightened tissue around the joint. You will receive a general anesthetic and so won’t feel any pain. The doctor then moves your shoulder joint in different directions.
Surgery — It’s not common to have surgery for a frozen shoulder but if all other treatments are not helping with your pain or movement, your doctor may suggest surgery in order to remove scar tissue and adhesions in your shoulder joint. This surgery is performed with lighted, tubular instruments that are inserted through small incisions around your shoulder joint (arthroscopically).

Home Remedies

When at home continue to use the exercises, your physical therapist has taught you. Also apply heat or cold to your shoulder joints to reduce pain.

Related Forums

Related Videos