The Stiff or “Frozen” Shoulder
Although not related to the cold weather of winter, I thought it would be helpful to discuss a common shoulder problem known as “adhesive capsulitis” or “frozen shoulder.” Frozen shoulder most often affects people between the ages of 40 and 60 and is more common in women. Normal shoulder function depends on pain-free, fluid, and unrestricted motion of the joint. As such, patients afflicted with frozen shoulder can be significantly debilitated with everyday activities such as work, recreation, and sleep impacted. Though the cause of frozen shoulder is not clearly understood, there are certain known risk factors. Below we’ll delve into the symptoms, risk factors, and possible treatment options for frozen shoulder.
Symptoms
Frozen shoulder results from thickening of the tissue that surrounds and stabilizes the shoulder joint making it tight and difficult to move. The tissue may also become significantly inflamed and or irritated making motion of the shoulder painful. Frozen shoulder often follows three predictable phases each with slightly different symptoms as outlined below.
•A dull ache and onset of worsening pain during the first stage (“freezing phase”).
•A slight reduction in pain during the second stage (“frozen phase”) where the shoulder becomes significantly stiff with very little mobility in the shoulder.
•A slow return to normal and pain-free motion in the shoulder in the final stage (thawing phase).
Each phase may last from a few weeks to several months with the complete course of the condition lasting for 18-24 months.
Risk Factors
There are certain factors that can make a person more likely to develop frozen shoulder. These includes:
•Diabetes
•Thyroid dysfunction (hypo- or hyperthyroidism)
•Parkinson’s disease
•Cardiac disease
•Immobility. If a person becomes immobile for a period of time, usually do to a surgical procedure or injury, then their risk for developing frozen shoulder increases.
Treatment
The most common treatment for frozen shoulder is non-surgical with the aim to reduce irritation and pain in the shoulder and then slowly regain full motion through gentle stretching exercises.
Common treatment methods include:
•Anti-inflammatory medicine
•Steroid injections
•Physical Therapy – both home stretching and office-based treatments
In rare cases where non-surgical treatment fails to resolve the condition, surgery is generally very successful at restoring full shoulder function. The procedure is done athroscopically, or through tiny incisions, and involves gentle manipulation of the shoulder with the patient anesthetized as well as release or cutting of any tight scar tissue around the shoulder.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually annoying. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is really frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I’ll be a frequent visitor for a long time.
Hello there. I found your web site by the use of Google even as searching for a related topic, your site got here up. It seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish just about gossip and web stuff and this is actually irritating. A good web site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thanks for making this web site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a long time.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Wow! Thank you! I permanently wanted to write on my website something like that. Can I include a fragment of your post to my site?
Hey there. I found your website by way of Google whilst searching for a similar matter, your site came up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hey there. I found your website by the use of Google even as looking for a related topic, your site got here up. It appears good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hey there. I found your site by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a similar topic, your web site came up. It looks great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is really frustrating. A good website with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for making this web-site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your blog and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
Awesome post. I am a normal visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this info. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good blog with interesting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hello there. I found your website by means of Google whilst searching for a related topic, your site got here up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hello there. I found your website by means of Google whilst looking for a similar subject, your website came up. It appears to be good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.