Frozen Shoulder

A frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis is inflammation of the connective tissue surrounding the shoulder joint which causes pain and stiffness and affects the ability to move the shoulder.

Frozen shoulder reduces normal movement in the shoulder joint and, in some cases, it can prevent movement in the shoulder altogether.

Frozen shoulders affect around 3% of the population and are slightly more common in women.

Causes

Frozen shoulder often occurs with no explanation.

Some people may develop a frozen shoulder after a traumatic injury, but this is not always the case.

There are some factors that make suffering from a frozen shoulder more common.

These include:

• Shoulder trauma or surgery – if you have a shoulder injury frozen shoulder may occur, but not always. Surgery also increases the risk, especially if it is followed by a sustained period of joint immobilisation
• Age and gender – You are most likely to suffer from a frozen shoulder between the ages of 40 and 60, and as previously mentioned, women are more prone to suffering from a frozen shoulder than men
• Endocrine disorders – people who have diabetics or thyroid problems are particularly at risk from suffering from a frozen shoulder
• Other systemic conditions – heart disease and Parkinson’s diseases have been associated with an increased risk of developing a frozen shoulder.

Symptoms

Pain and stiffness in the shoulder joint, pain at night when lying on the affected side and limited range of motion.

A frozen shoulder tends to have three ‘stages’ to it:

1. You will suffer some pain but will notice that you still have limited movement
2. The pain will ease off, but movement will become very limited
3. Finally the shoulder loosens up and returns to normal with full movement.

It can take between two – three years for all these phases to occur. In younger people who are active, the whole process can sometimes be reduced to as little as 10 – 12 weeks.

Diagnosis

A frozen shoulder can be diagnosed on examination by a physiotherapist. An X-Ray is occasionally taken to confirm that there are no other problems or possible causes for the shoulder pain.