Frozen shoulder is a lay term for a painful condition that affects the shoulder joint. It is termed adhesive capsulitis – a term that describes the shoulder joint capsules becoming stiff and stuck causing pain and reduced range of movement.
Typically the onset of frozen shoulder can take anywhere from a couple of months up to a year. In this time you will experience pain in the shoulder with a gradually worsening range of movement and stiffness. The loss of range of movement can be quite severe with you losing the ability to lift you arm above shoulder height. The pain can also be quite severe.
The shoulder joint capsule normally contains 30ml of joint fluid and the bottom aspect of the joint capsule is baggy allowing room for the arm bone to move into on arm movements. However, in a frozen shoulder the capsule shrink to as little as 3ml of fluid – thus you can see how this would affect the joint’s range of movement.
In fact your physio will be able to diagnose a frozen shoulder by the amount of movement you have in your shoulder and from your pattern of symptoms. If they are unsure they will ask your GP to refer you for an x-ray to rule out arthritis. If your x-ray is normal and you have shoulder pain and a gross loss of movement – you have a frozen shoulder.
It is estimated 1 in 20 people in the UK may suffer from a frozen shoulder, with the most common age of onset being between 40 and 60 years of age. The condition is more common in women than men. You are more likely to suffer a frozen shoulder if you are diabetic, have heart disease or have had previous shoulder trauma. There may also be an infectious cause that is at present still not properly understood.
A frozen shoulder can be managed with painkillers and physiotherapy range of movement exercises and joint mobilisation, acupuncture may also help. If it is not helping your could be referred for a steroid injection or for a hyper-dilation injection that aims to restore the size of the joint capsule.
Frozen shoulder do typically get better, however in a worse case scenario they could take up to a year of longer to resolve.
Typically the onset of frozen shoulder can take anywhere from a couple of months up to a year. In this time you will experience pain in the shoulder with a gradually worsening range of movement and stiffness. The loss of range of movement can be quite severe with you losing the ability to lift you arm above shoulder height. The pain can also be quite severe.
The shoulder joint capsule normally contains 30ml of joint fluid and the bottom aspect of the joint capsule is baggy allowing room for the arm bone to move into on arm movements. However, in a frozen shoulder the capsule shrink to as little as 3ml of fluid – thus you can see how this would affect the joint’s range of movement.
In fact your physio will be able to diagnose a frozen shoulder by the amount of movement you have in your shoulder and from your pattern of symptoms. If they are unsure they will ask your GP to refer you for an x-ray to rule out arthritis. If your x-ray is normal and you have shoulder pain and a gross loss of movement – you have a frozen shoulder.
It is estimated 1 in 20 people in the UK may suffer from a frozen shoulder, with the most common age of onset being between 40 and 60 years of age. The condition is more common in women than men. You are more likely to suffer a frozen shoulder if you are diabetic, have heart disease or have had previous shoulder trauma. There may also be an infectious cause that is at present still not properly understood.
A frozen shoulder can be managed with painkillers and physiotherapy range of movement exercises and joint mobilisation, acupuncture may also help. If it is not helping your could be referred for a steroid injection or for a hyper-dilation injection that aims to restore the size of the joint capsule.
Frozen shoulder do typically get better, however in a worse case scenario they could take up to a year of longer to resolve.