What is a frozen shoulder?
Frozen Shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, only occurs in up to 3 percent of the population and is marked by weakness and shoulder pain. Typically, signs and symptoms start progressively, deteriorate over time and then resolve, usually within one to three years.
The cause of spontaneous frozen shoulder onset is not clear, but if you are female, between 45 and 60 years of age, and have recently had shoulder surgery or injury, you are more at risk of developing the disease. In the future, about 20% of individuals who have had a frozen shoulder will also develop a frozen shoulder in their other shoulder.
By definition, the term adhesive capsulitis suggests that the pain and stiffness of your shoulder are a consequence of inflammation of the shoulder capsule (capsulitis) and fibrotic adhesions that hinder your mobility shoulder.
Symptoms
A frozen shoulder’s primary symptoms are pain and stiffness, making it difficult or impossible to move it.
You’ll probably feel a dull or achy pain in one shoulder if you have a frozen shoulder. The pain in the shoulder muscles that wrap around the top of your arm can also be felt. In your upper arm, you could experience the same sensation. At night, the pain could get worse, which can make it difficult to sleep.
Related complaints include:
Not being able to reach above the shoulder’s height.
Not being able to throw a ball.
Not being able to reach for something quickly.
Not being able to reach behind your back, e.g. to reach bra hook or tuck shirt.
Not being able to reach out to your side and behind. e.g. reach for seat belt
Not being able to sleep on your side
There are four levels of frozen shoulder, each with different symptoms. They are:
The inflammatory, characterized initially by pain around the elbow, then preceded by,
Freezing-a gradual loss of movement range. Because of the capsule colour, these first two phases are known as the RED process if you undergo arthroscopic surgery.
Frozen-minimum pain, without further loss or regeneration of range. Known as the PINK process due to the capsule colour.
Thawing: the gradual return of movement range, some weakness due to shoulder disuse. Identified as phase WHITE.
Range-of-motion and strengthening exercises, including hydrotherapy in Singapore and occasionally corticosteroids and numbing drugs inserted into the joint capsule, are used in shoulder pain treatment. In a small number of cases, it can be suggested that arthroscopic surgery loosens the joint capsule so that it can move more freely.
Suppose you should have a shoulder or arm injury. In that case, it is often advisable to seek the clinical guidance of someone such as your shoulder physiotherapist regarding exercises to help avoid a secondary frozen shoulder forming. If you are in a high-risk group, this is highly important.