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’m really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and net stuff and this is really irritating. A good site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually irritating. A good web site with interesting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hiya, I am really glad I’ve found this information. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is actually irritating. A good site with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web-site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I am a regular visitor of your site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Today bloggers publish only about gossip and internet stuff and this is actually irritating. A good web site with exciting content, that is what I need. Thanks for making this site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome write-up. I’m a regular visitor of your website and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hello there. I discovered your web site by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a comparable subject, your web site got here up. It appears to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hello there. I discovered your blog via Google at the same time as searching for a similar subject, your site came up. It seems to be great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Awesome write-up. I am a regular visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the excellent site. I will be a regular visitor for a really long time.
Hey there. I discovered your website by the use of Google while looking for a related matter, your site came up. It appears to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
Hey there. I discovered your website by way of Google at the same time as looking for a similar subject, your site got here up. It appears great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hello there. I found your blog via Google while looking for a similar topic, your web site got here up. It appears to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to visit then.
Hiya, I am really glad I have found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossip and net stuff and this is actually frustrating. A good site with exciting content, this is what I need. Thank you for making this site, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Awesome post. I’m a normal visitor of your web site and appreciate you taking the time to maintain the nice site. I will be a frequent visitor for a really long time.
Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be on the internet the easiest thing to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people consider worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks
It’s practically impossible to discover knowledgeable males and ladies during this topic, even so you sound like do you know what you’re discussing! Thanks
Hiya, I’m really glad I have found this info. Nowadays bloggers publish only about gossip and web stuff and this is really annoying. A good blog with exciting content, that’s what I need. Thanks for making this website, and I’ll be visiting again. Do you do newsletters by email?
Hey there. I discovered your site by the use of Google even as looking for a similar matter, your website came up. It seems to be good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back then.
You made various good points there. I did a search on the subject and found a good number of persons will go along with with your blog.