What Causes Frozen Shoulder and How Is It Treated?

Your shoulder has been bothering you, and it’s not getting any better. You’re experiencing pain when you try to reach overhead to put on a sweater or get a glass from the kitchen cabinet. 

You could be developing a condition called frozen shoulder. Our board-certified orthopedic surgeons with Alpine Orthopedics and Sports Medicine provide prompt treatment for this condition, which can worsen significantly if left untreated. 

What is frozen shoulder?

Symptoms of frozen shoulder mimic its name. Your shoulder becomes stiff and sore, and moving it is painful. 

Frozen shoulder progresses in stages, starting with severe pain and inflammation, moving to immobility, and ending with a gradual thawing process. 

The medical name for frozen shoulder is adhesive capsulitis, meaning the tissue surrounding your joint is inflamed. 

What causes frozen shoulder?

Causes of frozen shoulder can be grouped into three general categories: restricted movement, effect of disease, and unknown cause. 

Immobility

Have you been sidelined recently after surgery for a rotator cuff injury or a broken arm? Sometimes, frozen shoulder can develop after a period of immobility. Your body may form scar tissue around your shoulder joint. Scar tissue is thick and not as elastic as healthy tissue, leading to restricted movement in your shoulder. 

People who’ve had a stroke are also at a higher risk of frozen shoulder. 

A health condition

If you have a chronic disease like diabetes, a thyroid condition, or Parkinson’s, you’re also more at risk of frozen shoulder. 

High blood sugar levels can damage the collagen in your shoulder tissue, causing the inflammation that precedes the condition. Parkinson’s disease often restricts movement, causing muscles to freeze up, leading people to be less mobile overall. 

Unknown cause

Sometimes, frozen shoulder has no known cause. However, you’re more at risk as you age. 

Effective treatments for frozen shoulder

Our team develops a treatment plan using several modalities to ease your pain from frozen shoulder and help you recover. 

Pain medication

If needed, we can prescribe a medication to help ease your discomfort. 

Cortisone shots

If you’re in severe pain when you arrive for your appointment, we may administer a cortisone shot using imaging or ultrasound guidance to ensure proper placement. 

The injection helps reduce high levels of inflammation that are aggravating your pain. You should start to feel better in a couple of days. 

Physical therapy 

Physical therapy is a gold standard treatment for frozen shoulder. Once your assessment is completed, we may start with a gentle massage to improve circulation to your shoulder joint. 

Our team may use passive joint mobilization during the initial appointments. This means that we very gently move your shoulder joint to stretch your tight tissue and increase your range of motion. 

As you progress through treatment, our team employs other types of joint mobilization and gentle stretching exercises. When you’re ready, we introduce strengthening exercises to help you regain strength in your shoulder muscles that help support your shoulder joint. You may also receive ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and moist heat at your appointments. 

Physical therapy only works if you do the assigned exercises at home every day. We will explain how many repetitions of each exercise to do. 

Surgery

Most cases of frozen shoulder are resolved using conservative treatment. However, in some cases, we may suggest shoulder arthroscopy to release the shoulder joint capsule. 

If you have unexplained shoulder pain, call Alpine Orthopedics and Sports Medicine or request an appointment through our online portal today.