You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884

Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.

Frozen shoulder, medically referred to as adhesive capsulitis, is a disorder in which the shoulder capsule, the connective tissue surrounding the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder, becomes inflamed and stiff. Movement of the shoulder is severely restricted. The condition is sometimes caused by injury that leads to lack of use due to pain but also often arises spontaneously with no obvious preceding trigger factor. These seemingly spontaneous cases are usually referred to as Idiopathic Frozen Shoulder. Rheumatic disease progression and recent shoulder surgery can also cause a pattern of pain and limititation similar to frozen shoulder. Intermittent periods of use may cause inflammation.

Abnormal bands of tissue (adhesions) grow between the joint surfaces, restricting motion. There is also a lack of synovial fluid, which normally helps the shoulder joint move by lubricating the gap between the humerus (upper arm bone) and the socket in the scapula (shoulder blade). It is this restricted space between the capsule and ball of the humerus that distinguishes adhesive capsulitis from a less complicated, painful, stiff shoulder. People with diabetes, stroke, lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease, or who have been in an accident, are at a higher risk for frozen shoulder. Adhesive capsulitis has been indicated as a possible adverse effect of some forms of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The condition rarely appears in people under 40 years old and (at least in its idiopathic form) is much more common in women than in men. Frozen shoulder in diabetic patients is generally thought to be a more troublesome condition than in the non-diabetic population. ^[1] If a diabetic patient develops frozen shoulder then the time to full recovery is often prolonged.

Differential Diagnosis

• Brachial plexus injury
• Caplan's Syndrome
• Cerebrovascular accident
• Cervical spinal cord injury
• Diabetes Mellitus
• Felty's Syndrome
• Hyperthyroidism
• Hypotriglyceridemia
• Parkinson's Disease
• Reiter's Syndrome
• Repetative movements
• Rheumatic Fever
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Still's Disease

Prevention

To prevent the problem, a common recommendation is to keep the shoulder joint fully moving to prevent a frozen shoulder. Often a shoulder will hurt when it begins to freeze. Because pain discourages movement, further development of adhesions that restrict movement will occur unless the joint continues to move full range in all directions (adduction, abduction, flexion, rotation, and extension). Therapy will help one continue movement to discourage freezing and warm it. A medical doctor referral is needed before occupational or physical therapy can begin under law in most US states. Medical referral is not required for physical or occupational therapy in most Canadian provinces.

Signs and diagnosis

With a frozen shoulder, one sign is that the joint becomes so tight and stiff that it is nearly impossible to carry out simple movements, such as raising the arm. People complain that the stiffness and pain worsen at night. Pain due to frozen shoulder is usually dull or aching. It can be worsened with attempted motion. A doctor, or therapist (occupational, massage or physical), may suspect the patient has a frozen shoulder if a physical examination reveals limited shoulder movement. Frozen shoulder can also be diagnosed if limits to the active range of motion (range of motion from active use of muscles) are the same or almost the same as the limits to the passive range of motion (range of motion from a person manipulating the arm and shoulder). An arthrogram or an MRI scan may confirm the diagnosis - although in practice this is rarely required. Most orthopaedic specialists make the diagnosis of frozen shoulder by recognising the typical pattern of signs and symptoms.

Physicians have described the normal course of a frozen shoulder as having three stages:

Stage one: In the "freezing" or painful stage, which may last from six weeks to nine months, the patient has a slow onset of pain. As the pain worsens, the shoulder loses motion.

Stage two: The "frozen" or adhesive stage is marked by a slow improvement in pain, but the stiffness remains. This stage generally lasts four months to nine months.

Stage three: The "thawing" or recovery, during which shoulder motion slowly returns toward normal. This generally lasts five months to 26 months.

Management

Management of this disorder focuses on restoring joint movement and reducing shoulder pain. Usually, it begins with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the application of heat, followed by gentle stretching exercises. These stretching exercises, which may be performed in the home with the help of a physical, massage or occupational therapist, are the treatment of choice. In some cases, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) with a small battery-operated unit may be used to reduce pain by blocking nerve impulses.

One of the most successful treatments for frozen shoulder has been shown to be The Bowen Technique with average range of motion improvement of 23° during controlled trials.

If these measures are unsuccessful, the doctor may recommend manipulation of the shoulder under general anesthesia to break up the adhesions. Surgery to cut the adhesions is only necessary in some cases.

See also

• Calcific Tendonitis

References

1. This article contains text from the public domain document "Questions and Answers about Shoulder Problems", NIH Publication No. 01-4865, available from URL http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/shoulderprobs/shoulderqa.htm
2. This article contains text from the public domain document "Frozen Shoulder" , American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, available from URL http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=162&topcategory=Shoulder

1

External links

• Frozen Shoulder article
• "Adhesive Capsulitis: A Sticky Issue" from American Family Physician, 1999
• Shoulder Pain and Frozen Shoulder
• Frozen shoulder and diabetes
• Frozen Shoulder and Dupuytren's disease from Dupuytren Societynl:Frozen shoulder

sv:Adhesiv kapsulit

• Research on Frozen Shoulder Treatment Bowen Technique

WikiDoc Help Menu Quick Start.. Get Started Here! How to Login How to Search Pages How to Start a New Page How to Edit a Page Cheat Sheet Editing basics Learning Basic Formatting How to make Links in WikiDoc & to External Sites How to Make Lists How to Ignoring Formatting Adding References or Footnotes to Articles Tracking Changes You Have Made How to Put an Article Into a Category When Multiple Topics Should Go To The Same Page (MI, Acute MI, AMI) Using Redirection Advanced editing How to Make Tables How to Insert Images and Other Media How to Add Video Help:How to Make Columns Web Colors How To Make Templates How to Move Pages Inserting Dynamic Dates and Times Inserting WikiDoc Statistics Editing the Table of Contents Communicating your edits Let others know what you changed: The importance of Edit Summaries Minor Edits Edit Conflicts Help Videos You Can Watch Getting Started Video

Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content

Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .