Frozen Shoulder Symptoms

Written by admin

Sunday, 09 November 2008

Frozen shoulder can be very painful and can cause immobility to the shoulder joint. The medical term for this is adhesive capsulitis. Inflammation and scarring of the capsule around the shoulder joint can cause frozen shoulder. This scarring is also known as adhesions. It is important to get a proper diagnosis of frozen shoulder. An injury to the shoulder and arthritis can have the frozen shoulder symptoms.

Consulting your physician is the first step to getting the right diagnosis. The physician will begin by manipulating the affected shoulder. If diagnosis is not sure, he will order an X-ray. Then if the X-ray is not clear, an MRI may be done. This is usually done by injecting dye into the affected shoulder to see exactly where the problem is.

The following are frozen shoulder symptoms -

• Shoulder pain is usually a dull ache.
• Simple tasks such as getting dressed, combing your hair and reaching over your head may become difficult.
• Limited mobility to the affected area.

The three stages of frozen shoulder are -

• Freezing - There is a steady onset of pain and movement is restricted. This stage will last six to twelve months.
• Thawing - Movement returns to the shoulder and the pain eases. This may last more than a year.
• Frozen - The pain may ease, but the shoulder is still stiff. This stage will last four to six months.

Diabetics, stroke victims, heart attack victims and people with injuries often have frozen shoulder symptoms.

The treatment for frozen shoulder is the use of anti-inflammatories, cortisone injections and frozen shoulder physical therapy. Surgery will only be performed when these three things don't work. The surgery is done arthroscopically to release the scar tissue and manipulate the shoulder. It is then followed up with physical therapy.

In short, your best bet for diagnosing frozen shoulder symptoms is your physician.