When was the last time you stretched your hands properly and exercised your shoulder joint, rotating it both inward and outward? Perhaps you don’t even remember. In the middle of extended working hours and hectic routines, many of us often fail to ensure that our joints and body parts are kept moving and sufficiently exercised. This can cause trouble for your body in the long run.
Frozen shoulder is a painful condition that can render a person’s shoulder joint immovable. It causes pain and stiffness around shoulder. Patients have a decreased range of motion around the shoulder, which affects their daily activity. It develops when the capsule of the shoulder joint is inflamed. The capsule contains ligaments to hold the bones together.
Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, starts rather gradually and finally envelopes the entire shoulder. The shoulder joint is surrounded by several ligaments and tendons that provide support and stability and also allow flexibility of movement.
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Treatment includes physiotherapy, intra-articular injection of steroids, manipulation under anaesthesia and arthroscopic release and decompression. People around 40 and older are more likely to experience frozen shoulder.
In many cases, frozen shoulder can be prevented by keeping the joint moving and doing exercises and stretches that promote flexibility and mobility.
Lack of movement reduces both the optimal supply of blood and removal of waste products and over time causes the muscles to tighten. Similarly, a shift in the alignment of shoulder blades and upper arm bone due to wrong posture, like hunching over a computer for several hours, can put significant stress on the ligament and tendons, gradually leading to a mild or severe inflammation in the region. If left unchecked, it can cause scar tissue formation and shoulder stiffening.
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Women usually figure out the problem sooner compared to men, However, most people often ignore the symptoms, until they find it impossible to move their shoulder even an inch.
Frozen shoulder can be treated almost entirely only with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) and steroid injections. While, steroid injections along with physiotherapy can improve motion in advanced stages. Keeping your shoulder joint flexible is important. So is seeking immediate medical help to prevent progression of the disease.