This is a condition many have heard of but few understand.
Frozen shoulder is a condition of pain and reduced shoulder mobility. The severity ranges from mild-and-merely-an-inconvenience to severe-and-life-changing. The cause is inflammation (swelling) of the soft tissues (ligaments and tendons) in and around the shoulder joint. But the actual cause of that inflammation is not known.
Frozen shoulder affects some 1-3% of adults each year and is most common in older women aged 40-70. It is rare in those under 40. There is an association with diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and thyroid disease but the nature of this association is not well understood.
Frozen shoulder is usually treated with anti-inflammatory medication and or steroid injection (in and around the joint). Physiotherapy can be tried. Surgery may assist in severe cases. Treatment results are mixed and no one approach has been shown to be best.
Frozen shoulder usually resolves itself within 2-3 years. That said, some 305 of patients do experience residual symptoms in the long term.
Frozen shoulder is, at this time, a troubling and mysterious condition. More happily, it is not terribly common and it does resolve on its own, mostly.
Written by Dr Colin Burns
