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INJURY TITLE
| Adhesive capsulitis
Frozen shoulder |
INJURY OVERVIEW
| Frozen shoulder is a fairly common condition affecting the shoulder. However, it is more commonly over diagnosed. It is more common in females than males, more common in the 40-60 years old bracket, and also more common among diabetics (this is not an exclusive list). |
INJURY IN-DEPTH INFORMATION
| It occurs due to inflammation of the capsule surrounding the shoulder joint (this is smaller than you think). The pain is severe and results in gross loss of movement. Management of this condition is difficult but relatively measured. The how’s and why’s of it’s onset are still under much scrutiny. It is thought that a simple stomach bug could start it off, or it follows previous injury. Largely however, it has not particular provocation and it is hard to say why it only seems to happen in the shoulder.
It’s course can be crudely split into three stages (research does not wholly support this, but, it provides a simple process of thought regarding the condition. |
COMMON SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
| Stage 1: Very painful, loss of movement more due to pain.
Stage 2: Pain is maintained as joint stiffness sets in. Stage 3: Pain subsides as but the joint remains stiff (this can spontaneously resolve).
It is common to experience severe pain all around the shoulder, and possibly down to the hand and fingers. Often it is reported that people have difficulty sleeping due to the pain. |
HOW IS IT ASSESSED
| Largely through verbal and clinical assessment. The main aim is to assess differences between active and passive movements in the shoulder – if there was no difference, this would supply some evidence as to the presence of this condition. |
GENERAL TREATMENT
| Management of pain is key as this is the main problem here and hinders everything. Corticosteroid injections can help well in the early stages. Despite addressing the pain, the stiffness and loss of movement tends to happen anyway. If the pain is managed well, the window of opportunity for manual therapy (to help with joint stiffness) remains open. Hover if pain is not managed well, this is not the case.
There are some surgical options also. Namely manipulation under anaesthetic or hydroxylation (the use of water to stop the capsule sticking down to the bone). However, conservative measures are the usual course of treatment. |
| Exercise Videos: i.e.
Rotator cuff strengthening Pec stretch etc |
WHICH HEALTH PROFESSIONAL TO CONSULT
| PHYSIO X | MEDIC X | PODIATRY |