Frozen Shoulder
Frozen Shoulder, or Adhesive Capsulitis to the medical profession, is an injury which restricts or makes movement of the shoulder impossible. The condition usually only affects one shoulder and although it can happen, it’s uncommon for the other one to suffer as well.
The injury is due to inflammation of the shoulder joint, so much so that after a while it becomes very difficult to move. What’s more, adhesions can grow between the joints and there also becomes a lack of fluid around the area, making the movement even more restrictive.
It’s an injury that rarely affects young people and usually affects those over 40.
Symptoms
The injury has been split into three stages, so a person suffering will see different symptoms depending on how severe their condition is.
Painful Stage
This phase can last from anywhere between two and nine months. Any movement of the shoulder will be met with pain and you should start to feel your range of movement become reduced.
Adhesive Stage
This stage usually lasts between four and twelve months and the pain should not be worsening. However, stiffness will be a problem and the range of movement will be significantly limited. This can mean normal daily tasks can become difficult to perform.
Recovery Stage
It’s thought that this stage lasts for five to twelve months, with the injury starting to improve. The pain isn’t as severe and the athlete can begin to feel a greater range of movement.
For any stage, frozen shoulder is usually the most painful at night. Many sufferers have trouble sleeping as it becomes hard to rest in a position that doesn’t put pressure on the inflamed joint.
Causes
There are two types of causes for frozen shoulder; primary and secondary. Primary is when there seems to be no reason for the injury, while secondary is classed when something could have caused the condition, such as trauma, surgery or illness.
There is no definitive cause for frozen shoulder and at the moment, medical experts have to speculate on why it occurs. The basis of the problem is that the shoulder joint lining becomes inflamed and because of this, there is less room for the bone to move. The reason for this inflammation is still unknown, although there are plenty of theories and studies out there.
One thing that experts can be sure on is that frozen shoulder seems more likely to occur amongst diabetics. The reasoning for this could be due to glucose molecules sticking to the joint area, which will obviously restrict movement.
Treatment
Most of the time, doctors refer patients suffering with frozen shoulder to a physical therapist. There is no set treatment for frozen shoulder and different professionals like to experiment with different options.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are one way to go and should go some way into relieving the pain. As frozen shoulder is a problem that’s caused through inflammation of the joints, these drugs seem the obvious route to go down seeing as they specialize in relieving these inflamed areas.
However, the physical therapist will most likely want to try manipulating the shoulder using a range of exercises. Most of the time, it will be recommended to perform these exercises at home as well in a bid to improve the motion of the joint.
Heat therapy and electrical stimulation are two other possible treatments – but if all else fails then surgery might be the only option. This is only usually considered if all other treatments have failed and it’s become clear that the condition is not improving. It involves removing scarred tissue and the adhesions of the joint – which should result in a drastic improvement in the range of movement.
Prevention
As there is no specified cause for this condition, there are no direct prevention methods. However, to improve and strengthen the area around the joint, stretching is always recommended. This will increase the range of movement.
Also, taking precautions prior to exercise will do no end of help. By increasing the range of motion prior to exercise, you are minimizing the risk of an injury which could lead onto a secondary case of frozen shoulder.