Frozen Shoulder

What is Frozen Shoulder?

Frozen shoulders affect around 3% of the population and are slightly more common in women. It restricts the movement in the shoulder joint. This is believed by some to be as a result of hormonal imbalances, with many women suffering from a frozen shoulder around the time of menopause. It also affects athletes.

What causes a frozen shoulder?

Frozen shoulder often occurs with no explanation. Some people may develop a frozen shoulder after a traumatic injury, but this is not always the case.

There are some factors that make suffering from a frozen shoulder more common. These include:

  • Shoulder trauma or surgery – if you have a shoulder injury frozen shoulder may occur, but not always. Surgery also increases the risk, especially if it is followed by a sustained period of joint immobilisation
  • Age and gender – You are most likely to suffer from a frozen shoulder between the ages of 40 and 60, and as previously mentioned, women are more prone to suffering from a frozen shoulder than men
  • Endocrine disorders – people who have diabetics or thyroid problems are particularly at risk from suffering from a frozen shoulder
  • Other systemic conditions – heart disease and Parkinson’s diseases have been associated with an increased risk of developing a frozen shoulder.

What are the symptoms of a frozen shoulder?

Pain and stiffness in the shoulder joint, pain at night when lying on the affected side and limited range of motion.

A frozen shoulder tends to have three ‘stages’ to it:

  1. You will suffer some bad pain but will notice that you still have limited movement
  2. The pain will ease off, but movement will become very limited
  3. Finally the shoulder loosens up and returns to normal with full movement.

It can take between two – three years for all these phases to occur. In younger people who are active, the whole process can sometimes be reduced to as little as 10 – 12 weeks.

What treatments can you have for a frozen shoulder?

A frozen shoulder can be diagnosed on examination by a medical professional and no special tests are needed. An X-Ray is usually taken to confirm that there are no other problems or possible causes for the shoulder pain.

Things you can do yourself

  • Exercises and stretching helps increase the motion in the joint and to minimise the loss of muscle. Exercise and stretching the affected shoulder is integral to ensure your shoulder returns to its normal functionality. You should be aiming to mobilise the shoulder several times a day. Remember to only use exercises and stretching activities as advised by a medical professional or as prescribed as part of your rehabilitation programme
  • Cold therapy: Put a cold pack (typically an ice pack applied for 20 minutes) directly on the injury
  • Thermotherapy: Apply heat (typically in the form of heated pads, warms packs or lamps) to the areas of the body causing pain. NB. Often Cold therapy and Thermotherapy are alternated, with the cold application happening first
  • Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (always seek the advice of a medical professional)

Rehabilitation treatment

  • Physiotherapy
  • Ultrasound
  • Cortisone injections (used to decrease the inflammation in the frozen shoulder joint and help reduce pain. They also help allow more agility when stretching and exercising. Cortisone is only effective when used in conjunction with physiotherapy).

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