Unlocking Your Movement: A Factual Guide to Overcoming Frozen Shoulder
The shoulder stiffness and pain due to thickening and tightening of the shoulder capsule, which restricts your shoulder movement, is the frozen shoulder, medically termed as adhesive capsulitis. It is a severe condition, making daily tasks like dressing or sleeping very difficult. The condition occurs when the connective tissue surrounding the shoulder joint becomes thick, stiff, and inflamed. SRM Global Hospitals helps you regain shoulder mobility through advanced medical guidance.
How Frozen Shoulder Happens?
A strong connective tissue surrounding the shoulder joint, known as the joint capsule, provides stability while allowing a wide range of motion. Frozen shoulder occurs when the shoulder joint capsule undergoes progressive inflammation and fibrosis and leading to the formation of dense scar tissue (adhesions).
Over time, the shoulder capsule becomes thick and tight, which reduces the volume of synovial fluid within the joint. These complications restrict the space available for the upper arm to rotate or lift, leading to shoulder dysfunction and severe pain.
Stages of Adhesive Capsulitis or Frozen Shoulder
Doctors divide the process into three phases, and the symptoms of these three stages could be pain, stiffness, and a limited range of motion in all directions.
- Freezing Stage: The freezing stage is characterised by increasing pain and stiffness, which can last from 2 to 9 months. The pain associated with frozen shoulder may worsen at night, making it difficult to sleep. Your shoulder’s range of motion starts to drop.
- Frozen Stage: The frozen stage is marked by a significant reduction in pain but persistent stiffness, lasting from 4 to 12 months. The affected arm feels stuck.
- Thawing Stage: The shoulder motion slowly improves. Recovery can take six months to two years.
How Doctors Diagnose Frozen Shoulder?
The diagnosis of frozen shoulder is primarily clinical, based on medical history and physical examination. During a physical exam, the expert checks the active range of your shoulder rotation. Doctors also check the passive range of motion, where the expert moves your arm for you.
If the passive range is equal to the active range, the issue is likely shoulder adhesive capsulitis, as the lower shoulder external rotation is a classic sign rather than a rotator cuff tear. X-rays cannot help to view the soft tissues, yet they help to detect whether it is a rotator cuff tendinitis (inflammation or irritation of the tendons in the shoulder) or a torn rotator cuff (tendon rips or pulls away from the shoulder bone).
Risk Factors of Frozen Shoulder
- Post-Surgery: Developing frozen shoulder often happens after a recent shoulder injury or surgery. The connective tissue surrounding the joint tightens and could lead to shoulder dysfunction if you keep your arms still during recovery.
- Diabetes: Diabetes is a significant risk factor for developing frozen shoulder, with about 10% to 20% of people with diabetes affected.
- Thyroid Disorders: Patients with metabolic issues like thyroid disorders face a much higher risk of primary frozen shoulder.
- Gender and age: It is more common in women than in men, especially those in the 40–60 age group.
Non-Surgical Treatments for Frozen Shoulder
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to manage the pain of frozen shoulder.
- Corticosteroid injections can help relieve inflammation along with pain in frozen shoulder.
- Hydrodilatation is the injecting of sterile saline and a corticosteroid medicine into the joint to stretch the shoulder capsule.
The clinical research constantly shows that over 90% of patients recover from frozen shoulder with non-invasive care.
Physical Therapy for Frozen Shoulder
Physical therapy is a cornerstone of treatment for frozen shoulder, focusing on restoring the range of motion. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an advanced physical therapy that involves a mild electric pulse in the shoulder and is used to manage pain in frozen shoulder.
Exercises for Frozen Shoulder
You must perform a range of motion exercises daily. Warming up your shoulder before performing exercises is recommended to enhance mobility. Focus on internal rotation and external rotation to keep the soft tissues flexible.
Gentle stretches, like the pendulum swing, wall climbs, and cross-body stretches, help improve flexibility in frozen shoulder. Using a rubber exercise band allows for strengthening exercises as the shoulder dysfunction improves.
Performing exercises to stretch the shoulder capsule can help alleviate symptoms of frozen shoulder, but avoid activities that require overhead reaching or lifting during the recovery process.
Surgical Treatment for Frozen Shoulder
Shoulder manipulation under anesthesia is a procedure where a doctor moves your affected shoulder. At the same time, you are sedated to break up scar tissue. The process manually tears the thickened shoulder joint capsule to restore shoulder motion that was previously blocked immediately. It is typically a self-limiting condition relief option used only when persistent pain and stiffness do not improve with stretching exercises and in resistant cases where non-surgical treatments fail.
Persistence is the path to your recovery!
The frozen shoulder prognosis could be better with early and appropriate management, including physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications. Staying active protects your rotator cuff muscles. Managing underlying conditions like diabetes and thyroid disorders can help prevent frozen shoulder. You can prevent frozen shoulder by moving your arm soon after any minor shoulder injury.
SRM Global Hospitals provides full support as our team ensures your shoulder pain from frozen shoulder does not stop your life.
FAQs on Frozen Shoulder
1. Why does my arm feel so stuck and heavy?
You are likely experiencing frozen shoulder symptoms, also called adhesive capsulitis, which involve persistent pain and stiffness. The condition limits your range of motion in all directions because the joint capsule has thickened.
2. Can frozen shoulder be cured without a major operation?
Yes, most patients find that stretching exercises and physical therapy effectively reduce pain. Since this is primarily a self-limiting condition (that could naturally resolve on its own), we focus on non-surgical methods like shoulder exercises to restore movement over time.
3. How will you confirm if I definitely have frozen shoulder?
Your frozen shoulder is diagnosed through a physical exam where we compare your affected shoulder to your unaffected arm. We will check how your shoulder muscles move to rule out other injuries, like a rotator cuff tear.
4. What happens if my shoulder does not improve with simple stretches?
If your severe pain continues, a physical therapist might suggest shoulder manipulation under anaesthesia to break up scar tissue. Another option is injecting fluid to expand the joint space and improve the flow of synovial fluid.
5. Is there a way to safely stretch my arm at home for managing frozen shoulder?
Gently pull your arm across your chest or use a wall to increase height slowly. The gentle stretching exercises are essential for primary frozen shoulder recovery, as long as you do not push into sharp, sudden pain.
