FROZEN SHOULDER

Frozen shoulder is a very common condition seen where there is pain and stiffness in the shoulder. It can happen in one or both shoulders. It is called adhesive capsulitis in medical terms.Our shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint. It has a joint lining or capsule surrounding it. In frozen shoulder this lining becomes inflamed, thickened and over a period of time gets very stiff thereby restricting the movements in the shoulder.

There are various risk factors for frozen shoulder, the most important of which is Diabetes. The other contributing factors are people recovering from stroke, accidents or heart surgeries or any surgeries in the vicinity of the shoulder like breast or lungs.It can also be caused by repetitive micro trauma tothe shoulder.Sometimes there is no definitive cause .It is more common in women and usually presents after the age of 40.

It usually presents itself with pain which can increase during night and gradual restriction of movement in the shoulder. It will become difficult reaching for things above the level of shoulder or reaching your back. The pain later becomes dull or just aching but can increase with movement.The main symptom will be severe restriction of movement at later stages.

Frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis is usually a clinical diagnosis. X-rays are usually normal.But other conditions like cuff tears need to be excluded. Diagnosing it early is very important because if picked up early results of treatment are very good.

To prevent the problem, a common recommendation is to keep the shoulder joint fully moving to prevent a frozen shoulder.This is very important if you are a diabetic or recovering from any surgery or injury to the elbow or wrist.

In the early stages it can be treated with a course of anti inflammatory drugs and supervised physiotherapy. Sometimes a steroid injection into the joint might be suggested. When there is restriction of movement which is not responding to physiotherapy, surgery is indicated.

A manipulation of the shoulder joint can be done in cases not responding to conservative management and physiotherapy. This is done under general anaesthesia. The shoulder is manipulated to break the adhesions within the shoulder joint and usually an injection is given at the same time. There is a small risk of fracture of the arm bone especially in elderly with osteoporotic bone.

Shoulder Arthroscopy or key hole surgery of the shoulder can be done in severe cases and those not responding to other modalities. Here a camera is introduced into the shoulder joint through a tiny incision and the capsule is released using special instruments. The results of this procedure are very good.

Dr. Sridhar Musthyala

FRCS ( ortho) . UK.

Joint Replacement and

Arthroscopy Surgeon,

Indo –US Super Speciality

Hospital,

Ameerpet.

040 2378 2378 / 8374717966