Adhesive capsulitis, another name for frozen shoulder, causes discomfort and stiffness in the shoulder joint. Typically, signs and symptoms start off mildly before becoming worse. Symptoms normally improve over the course of one to three years. A frozen shoulder is more likely to happen if you have to keep a shoulder still for a long time. This could happen after surgery or if you break your arm.
Exercises designed to increase range of motion are used to treat frozen shoulder. Injections of numbing agents and corticosteroids are sometimes used as a kind of therapy. Rarely is arthroscopic surgery required to release the joint capsule and allow for more mobility. Recurrence of frozen shoulder in the same shoulder is uncommon. However, certain individuals, often within five years, might get it on the opposite shoulder.
Symptoms
Usually, frozen shoulder develops progressively over three phases.
- Freezing stage:
The shoulder hurts with every motion, and its range of motion is limited. There are two to nine months in this period.
- Frozen stage:
During this phase, pain could diminish. The shoulder, though, stiffens up. It gets increasingly challenging to use. Four to twelve months are spent in this period.
- Stage of thawing:
The shoulder starts to move more easily. This phase lasts for five to twenty-four months.
Some people’s discomfort becomes greater at night, sometimes making it difficult to sleep.
How Does a Frozen Shoulder Happen?
The shoulder joint is protected by a connective tissue capsule. When this capsule surrounding the shoulder joint becomes thicker and tighter, limiting mobility, a frozen shoulder develops. It’s unknown why certain individuals experience this. However, holding a shoulder immobile for an extended length of time is more likely to cause it, such as after surgery or an arm fracture.
How is Frozen Shoulder Diagnosed?
Your doctor will do a physical examination on you to identify a frozen shoulder. They will examine it to see how painful it is and how far it travels. The “active” portion of the test will allow you to move your shoulder independently. They will move it for you and record the variations during the “passive” part. Your doctor could determine that you need an anaesthetic injection in your shoulder. This drug will dull the discomfort so they can more accurately assess your active and passive ranges of motion.
A frozen shoulder is often diagnosed by a physical examination, but your doctor may also request imaging tests like X-rays, ultrasounds, or MRIs to rule out other conditions like arthritis or a torn rotator cuff that may also hurt and restrict how far it can move.
What Are The Treatments For Frozen Shoulder?
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen, both available without a prescription, may reduce swelling and discomfort in the shoulder. A stronger drug may be prescribed by your doctor if they don’t work. A physical therapist may recommend strengthening and stretching activities to help you regain mobility as part of your therapy plan.
Your doctor may suggest further forms of therapy if your symptoms are severe or don’t get better on their own, such as:
- An injection of corticosteroids into your shoulder joint to ease discomfort and increase range of motion.
- Joint distension. To extend your shoulder capsule, your doctor will inject sterile water into it. This may make it easier for you to move your shoulder.
- Physical treatment. This has varied results, and it could be more effective in certain frozen shoulder episodes than others.
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Surgery. Rarely is this required to treat frozen shoulder. However, if alternative therapies haven’t worked, your doctor could advise surgery. Most likely, an arthroscopic operation would be used.
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Shoulder manipulation, which may help loosen up your shoulder tissue, is now extremely seldom performed since arthroscopic surgery has taken its place. This means it is carried out using illuminated, pencil-sized instruments that are put via small slits in your shoulder. Under general anaesthesia, surgeons would firmly move the shoulder. There was a higher risk of sequelae, including fractures, with this approach.
Not moving a shoulder when healing from a shoulder injury, broken arm, or stroke is one of the most typical causes of frozen shoulder. Consult your doctor about exercises that may help you keep your shoulder joint mobile if you’ve had an injury that makes it difficult for you to move it. You can also consult a Bowen therapist to help you with the frozen shoulder treatment.
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