What is Frozen Shoulder?
Frozen shoulder is also known as adhesive capsulitis. It usually involves stiffness and pain that develops gradually in your shoulder joint. Treatment for Frozen Shoulder involves stretching and sometimes injecting of corticosteroids and numbing medications into the joint capsule.
In some cases, surgery is used to loosen the joint capsule so that it can move freely. Signs and symptoms typically begin gradually, worsen over time and then resolve, usually within one or three years.
Causes of Frozen Shoulder:
The bones, ligaments and tendons that make up your shoulder joint are encased in a capsule of connective tissue. Frozen shoulder occurs when this capsule thickens and tightens around the shoulder joint, restricting its movement.
Doctors aren’t sure why this happens to some people, although it’s more likely to occur in people who have diabetes or those who recently had to immobilize their shoulder for a long period, such as after surgery or an arm fracture.
Symptoms:
Pain from a frozen shoulder is usually a dull ache that often radiates towards the elbow. Pain may also be felt around the shoulder blade (scapula) as well. It is often present at rest, and worse with movement. It also may be worse at night and affect sleep. Over time, the shoulder becomes stiffer.
STAGES OF FROZEN SHOULDER
Freezing (inflammatory):
Slow onset of pain Shoulder becomes stiffer and more painful with time.
Duration: 6 weeks to 9 months.
Frozen:
Slow improvement in pain but remains stiff.
Duration: 4 to 9 months.
Thawing:
The movement slowly returns to normal.
Duration: 5 to 26 months.