subject: Understanding What The Medical Condition Of A Frozen Shoulder Is [print this page] Medically known as Adhesive Capsulitis, frozen shoulder refers to a health condition wherein the shoulder capsule becomes inflamed and stiffens thereby leading to physical motion restrictions and causing chronic pain to arise. The shoulder capsule is the connective underlying tissue around the glenohumeral joint of the shoulder. This is fairly mysterious condition that often is misdiagnosed as a myriad of other conditions, which can lead to frustrating in those who suffer from it.
Frozen shoulder is mainly characterized by stiffing and pain within the shoulder joint area. Signs and symptoms of the condition usually start slowly, but tend to worsen as the condition progresses without proper medical care and attention. The time frame of actual progression of the condition is usually within 1 to 2 years, though it is known to affect individuals differently. Consulting a specialist is the best way to go to get a proper diagnosis. You have an even greater risk of developing the condition if you are currently recovering from a shoulder injury or a procedure that limits or totally disables the mobility of the entire arm, such as mastectomy or stroke.
Frozen shoulder commonly progresses slowly and in three phases. Each of these phases can last for a considerable period of time. These three stages include Painful stage, Frozen stage and Thawing stage. The first stage involves emergence of pain as a result of attempts to move the shoulder. Range of motion within the shoulder also becomes restricted. On the second stage, pain commences to minimize and mild up. However, the shoulder will start to stiffen and range of motion further diminishes. On the last stage, the range of motion recuperates and begins to change back to normal. In many cases of frozen shoulders, the pain amplifies during nighttime, sometimes even disrupting regular sleeping patterns.
A significant portion of the patient population admitted for frozen shoulder are unable to recall any injuries or discernible causes that can be linked to the condition. There are cases wherein patients develop the condition after receiving trauma to the shoulder. However, this isn't always the case. As pain and swelling from a shoulder strain injury usually only develops several days succeeding the contact, this may be the main reason why admitted patients are unable to recall what they did or what happened to them prior the emergence of the frozen shoulder.There are several risk factors for frozen shoulder. One of the most common risk factors are age and gender.
These two go hand-in-hand. Patients between the ages of 40 to 60 years old are more prone to developing frozen shoulder. Furthermore, according to experts and researchers, women are significantly more prone to the condition than men are.Endocrine ailments are also a risk factor for frozen shoulders. Patients who have diabetes are at higher risks of adhesive caspulitis. Other endocrine diseases like thyroid issues may also be a contributing factor for the development of a frozen shoulder.How can you treat a frozen shoulder? There are several accepted treatment procedures for a frozen shoulder. One of these treatment methods involve a non-surgical operation that is now gaining rapid acceptance and popularity in the medical world. The method requires no surgical dissection equipment nor any tissue incisions or cuts.
