ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Frozen shoulder: a condition that’s common in women more than men. It happens when the tissue around the shoulder joint gets thick and tight. Studies also show about 10-20% of people with diabetes will experience a painful frozen shoulder at some point.
It makes your shoulder sore and stuck.
“When people get this, they have a tremendous amount of pain from it,” explained Randy Schwartzberg, MD, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at Orlando Orthopaedic Center.
Frozen shoulder also called adhesive capsulitis, is a condition involving pain and stiffness in your shoulder joint.
“Typically in the front of the shoulder, and then they actually start to lose motion. They actually can’t move the shoulder through their full range of motion,” Dr. Schwartzberg told Ivanhoe.
Studies show it affects about 2-5% of the population. And the average age to get it?
“The type of population that we see that in most commonly, which is people in their forties and fifties,” said Dr. Schwartzberg.
It has three stages: first is freezing, increasing pain and loss of motion. Second is frozen, where pain improves but the shoulder is still stiff. And finally thawing, where range of motion begins to return to normal. While the causes of it are unknown, factors like shoulder injuries and medical conditions play a role.
“We do see it a little more commonly in people who have diabetes. We see it a little more commonly in people who have conditions that we call metabolic conditions like thyroid disease,” explained Dr. Schwartzberg.
Treatments for this condition involves physical therapy, pain relievers like ibuprofen or applying heat or ice on your shoulders.
“What we do is we try to help people with their pain symptoms, whether they hurt during the day, whether they hurt with just activity,” said Dr. Schwartzberg.
Surgery is the last option.
The goal is to stretch and release the stiffened joint capsule. But Dr. Schwartzberg says to be sure to consult your doctor before trying to do so yourself. He says many people get better on their own and the rest get the surgical procedure that is almost always successful.
Contributors to this news report include: Cliff Tumetel, Producer; Chuck Bennethum, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://ortho-surgeon.com/frozen-shoulder-signs-causes-diagnosis-treatment/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/frozen-shoulder-adhesive-capsulitis
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK532955/?report=classic
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/frozen-shoulder/
* For More Information, Contact: Randy Schwartzberg, MD
Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon at Orlando Orthopaedic Center
rschwartzbergmd@orladoortho.com
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