Frozen Shoulder: How to recognize this uncomfortable shoulder condition?
The shoulder is the only joint in the body that can freeze up and stop functioning, which is a surprising fact that nobody seems to understand fully.
Frozen shoulder, medically known as Adhesive capsulitis, is a painful shoulder condition that limits the range of motion. It can occur mysteriously, out of nowhere, or it can be a result of some other health condition or disease such as diabetes. The frozen shoulder can also occur after a trauma to shoulder, such as a direct fall on it, and it can also follow a long period of immobilization. Regardless of the cause, the symptoms always remain the same: pain that causes discomfort and increases over time and stiffness that makes the movement difficult or impossible. The pain typically originates in the shoulder joint, and without treatment, it spreads to the muscles that wrap the top of the arm.How to recognize the frozen shoulder?
This shoulder conditions an extremely common one, yet it’s still hard to diagnose it correctly and treat it adequately. Frozen shoulder tends to pull the rounded head of the humerus (upper arm bone) further into its socket. Therefore, orthopedic professionals consider the nature of the frozen shoulder as a biological glitch, or simply, a mechanical breakdown. While orthopedic professionals haven’t reached common ground on the reasons why the shoulder freezes, numerous health experts link the frozen shoulder to underlying health conditions. Still, the signs of frozen shoulder occur moderately, and they slowly worsen over time. The frozen shoulder has three stages, and they all have specific symptoms and a timeline.How to tell if the shoulder is frozen?
There is still no one typical test performed to diagnose and confirm the frozen shoulder. Orthopedic doctors usually observe the shoulder range of motions. Furthermore, they also take into consideration the overall health of the patient and check for any underlying health condition.“If the shoulder feels “stuck” where it is very difficult to bring it behind your back, and you have a history of diabetes or thyroid disease, you might have a frozen shoulder,” says Dr. Armin Tehrany, one of the top New York shoulder doctors.Following are a few simple steps that can reveal a frozen shoulder:
- Lifting the arms overhead – if this movement is painful and the highest point the arm goes is being parallel to the floor, then most likely, the patient suffers a frozen shoulder. Additionally, at this point, the shoulder blade will rise unnaturally, and the pain will start moving towards the ear.
- Lifting the arms to the side – if the arm goes up to the point that is just level with the floor, and if it is painful, then the patient may have a frozen shoulder.
- Rotating the arms with bent elbows – if the patient feels pain while rotating the arms out with elbows bent at 90 degrees and tucked into the side, then the patient has a frozen shoulder.