Frozen Shoulder – Symptoms and Causes

One morning you wake up and you notice you can’t move your shoulder, and the pain is so excruciating you want to cry!  Don’t fret but you may have frozen shoulder.  What is frozen shoulder you ask?  Well, it’s when the global movements of the shoulder are extremely limited and extremely painful in all directions.  In fact, a telltale sign is pain at night, so your sleep is disturbed.

Frozen shoulder is a difficult condition to ascertain why it happens?  There is no direct causal relationship however there are a few factors that can increase your chances of developing the condition.

Risk Factors include:

• Age and gender – 40- to 60-year-old females are more likely to develop frozen shoulder
• Immobility or restricted movement – this could be due to a previous shoulder injury, surgery, stroke, or fracture
• Medical history – individuals who have underlying health conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disease, cardiovascular disease may be predisposed to developing frozen shoulder

So what really is frozen shoulder?

Frozen shoulder occurs when the shoulder joint is no longer able to move due to increased thickening of the connective tissue in the joint capsule. 

There are 3 stages in frozen shoulder.

• Freezing stage – the shoulder is painful and limited in all directions.  This stage can vary from a few months up to 10 months.
• Frozen stage – the movement of the joint is stiffer.  Very difficult to use shoulder for day-to-day activities.  Pain typically less in this stage.  This stage can vary from 4 months up to a year
• Thawing stage – the movement of the shoulder improves dramatically.  This stage can vary between 5 months up to 2 years

Even though frozen shoulder can last a long time, it is important to see a healthcare provider such as a chiropractor or physiotherapist for therapy options to help mitigate the pain and limitation.