Frozen Shoulder
Syndrome
Frozen shoulder syndrome is a debilitating
disease. It affects about two percent of the general
population. The technical name for frozen shoulder is adhesive
capsulitis. It is a pathological disease that affects the
shoulder capsule within the shoulder joint. The most often
complaint that occurs in the shoulder are extreme pain,
stiffness and loss of range of motion.
In most cases, the condition is caused by a traumatic injury
that initially begins with severe pain and over time the
shoulder will stiffen up. The pattern of signs and symptoms is
similar to rheumatic diseases where it starts with pain and
eventually leads to limitation of movement of the joint. In
other cases, the symptoms would spontaneous appear without any
specific injury. This is called a idiopathic frozen
shoulder.
This condition rarely affects people under forty years old and
appears more commonly in women than in men. Specifically,
approximately 70% of patients are woman aged between forty and
sixty years old.
If you have secondary complications such as diabetes,heart
disease, stroke, lung disease and rheumatoid arthritis, the
probability of getting frozen shoulder or shoulder adhesive
capsulitis is much higher. Approximately, 10 to 30% of people
who have diabetes will get frozen shoulder. The recovery period
also extends for a longer period of time. Typically, it would
take them one a half to two years for the person to fully
recover. The non-dominant shoulder is usually affected more
than the the dominant one. In x-rays, there will be no obvious
bone abnormalities, calcium deposits or rotator cuff injuries
detected.
It takes approximately twelve months for the shoulder to fully
recover. If you think you have frozen shoulder, you should see
a health practitioner as soon as possible. The majority of
patients will recover without having surgery. However, it is
common for a person to undergo surgery to reduce stiffness and
pain.
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