FROZEN SHOULDER: WHAT IT IS?
Have you ever experienced shoulder pain just after waking up in the morning? Or your shoulder gets stiff after 2-3 hours of mobilization. A condition of shoulder joint accompanied by stiffness, tenderness, and pain in your shoulder joint. This condition is also known as ‘adhesive capsulitis‘. Generally, it occurs due to inflammation of the synovial capsule. Most of the time the symptoms occur and get worsen. It takes about two to three years to get normal if left untreated.
How did it feel to have a frozen shoulder?
Frozen shoulders develop gradually. It has 3 stages each stretches to 3-4 months.
- Freezing stage – The range of motion from the shoulder gets limited. Shoulder movements are painful.
- Frozen stage – Pain may get reduce but, your shoulder gets more stuff and movement gets more difficult from the shoulder joint.
- Thawing stage – Reliving stage pain reduced and range of motion improves.
Pain may get worsen during night and interrupt sleep.
Are you at risk of developing a frozen shoulder?
The joint at the shoulder is encased in a capsule; this capsule gets inflamed and tightens restricting the movement.
Causes aren’t sure that why it happens, however, some people are at risk:
- Age and sex – Age more than 40 years, mostly women are at risk of getting frozen shoulder.
- Compromised mobility – People who’ve had compromised mobility of the shoulder. The following are the conditions: Rotator cuff injury, broken arm, Stroke, Recovery from surgery, Systemic diseases.
- Some disease conditions likely to aid in frozen shoulder.
- Diabetes.
- Hyperthyroidism
- hypothyroidism
- Tuberculosis
- Parkinson’s disease
How you can prevent it?
Regular exercise – If you have any risky condition. Then talk to your doctor for a minimum range of motion you can practice preventing it.
How you will get it diagnosed?
- Physical examination — during this doctor ask you to do a range of motion by own then he will move your hand checking range of motion. Active and passive range motion both are affected in this condition.
- Usually, signs and symptoms are enough to diagnose. But a doctor can advise radiological tests — X-rays or an MRI — to rule out problems.
What are the treatments for frozen shoulder?
- The first aim of treatment is to control pain and preserving the range of motion of the shoulder.
- Medications- anti analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs given to relieve pain.
- Therapy- Physiotherapist teach you a range of motion to restore movement.
- Surgical and other procedures
Most of the time frozen shoulder gets better on its own. For frequent and persistent condition your doctor may suggest
- Steroid injections – in the shoulder joint.
- Joint distension – by injecting sterile water in a joint to stretch the tissue for good movement.
- Shoulder manipulation – The doctor moves the shoulder in a different direction to relieve tightness of joint
- Shoulder Arthroscopy Surgery – If the above methods are not helping you, your doctor may recommend surgery to take out scar tissue and adhesion of joint.
A surgeon performs this surgery with the tubular camera having attached light to examine or repair the tissues inside or around your shoulder joint and with minimally invasive procedure scar and adhesion is removed with the help of arthroscopy. The camera displays pictures on a video monitor and the surgeon uses these images to guide miniature surgical instruments. Along with the endoscopic camera system, an endoscope trolley is also needed to place instruments and monitor. Endoscope trolley helps in minimizing the extra burden to arrange the endoscopy devices like LED cold light, CO2, Suction irrigation, Monitor with MIS instruments.
After surgery, after two weeks you can resume a normal routine life. The procedure is easy and heals fast.
