About the condition: Frozen shoulder affects about 1 in 50 adults at some stage in their life. It most commonly occurs in people aged between 40 and 60. It is more common in women. It is more common than average in people who have diabetes and some other conditions.
It is thought that some scar tissue forms in the shoulder capsule. The capsule is a thin tissue that covers and protects the shoulder joint. The scar tissue may cause the capsule to thicken, contract and limit the movement of the shoulder. The reason why the scar tissue forms is not known.
A frozen shoulder occasionally follows a shoulder injury. However, this is not usual and most cases occur for no apparent reason.
Symptoms: The typical symptoms are pain, stiffness, and limitation in the range of movement of a shoulder. The symptoms typically have three phases:
Phase one – the ‘freezing’, painful phase. This typically lasts 2-9 months. The first symptom is usually pain. Stiffness and limitation in
movement then also gradually build up. The pain is typically worse at night and when you lie on the affected side.
Phase two – the ‘frozen’, stiff (or adhesive) phase. This typically lasts 4-12 months. Pain gradually eases but stiffness and limitation in
movement remain and can get worse. All movements of the shoulder are affected. However, the movement most severely affected is usually
rotation of the arm outwards. The muscles around the shoulder may waste a bit as they are not used.
Phase three – the ‘thawing’, recovery phase. This typically lasts anywhere between five months and four years. The pain and stiffness
gradually go and movement gradually returns to normal, or near normal.
Symptoms often interfere with everyday tasks such as driving, dressing, or sleeping. Even scratching your back, or putting your hand in a rear pocket, may become impossible. Work may be affected in some cases.
Treatment: The progression of frozen shoulder cannot be halted and it is a case of waiting for the symptoms to subside naturally. Since the actual disease process can’t be stopped chiropractic can help by trying to reduce some of the symptoms of the disease as Dr Nina explains:
“You often find a good deal of the discomfort and pain from frozen shoulder is actually coming from the surrounding structures. The muscles become very tight and tender as they are not being used as normal, ligaments in the shoulder get inflamed and all of these cause pain. Chiropractic can help by working on the muscles ligaments and relieving any restrictions in the neck and mid back which are quite common.”
There are a range of other things that can be done to help ease the pain. Dr Nina has seen a number of patients with these conditions and says:
“Frozen shoulder can be very uncomfortable and painful but I have treated a number of patients and although all the pain did not go they noted much less pain, better sleep and one patient was even able to return to work after going through a few treatment sessions”.
