Frozen shoulder

Frozen shoulder is commonly encountered in general orthopaedic practice. It may arise spontaneously without an obvious predisposing cause, or be associated with a variety of local or systemic disorders. Diagnosis is based upon the recognition of the characteristic features of the pain, and selective limitation of passive external rotation. The macroscopic and histological features of the capsular contracture are well-defined, but the underlying pathological processes remain poorly understood. It may cause protracted disability, and imposes a considerable burden on health service resources. Most patients are still managed by physiotherapy in primary care, and only the more refractory cases are referred for specialist intervention. Targeted therapy is not possible and treatment remains predominantly symptomatic. However, over the last ten years, more active interventions that may shorten the clinical course, such as capsular distension arthrography and arthroscopic capsular release, have become more popular. This review describes the clinical and pathological features of frozen shoulder. We also outline the current treatment options, review the published results and present our own treatment algorithm.     

Frozen shoulder. Diagnosis and therapy

The condition of shoulder stiffness is often called adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder. It is regarded as a distinct clinical entity showing a benign and regular course. The major clinical feature is significant reduction in both active and passive range of motion (ROM) accompanied by stage-dependent pain, allowing for a clinical diagnosis. There are primary and secondary forms, the former having an unknown etiology and increased occurrence in patients with metabolic disorders and the latter being seen with prior injury or operation. Three stages, each lasting 4-6 months, mark the clinical course. The progression of the disease is self-limiting and may occasionally resolve in partial restitution. In the first stage ("freezing"), the shoulder continuously loses passive motion and causes worsening pain. Continuing stiffness and improvements in pain and inflammation are characteristic of the second stage ("frozen"). In the third stage ("thawing"), restriction of shoulder motion decreases, and ROM increases. Treatment should be adjusted to these stages. Recommendations include analgesics and joint injections in the first stage and physiotherapy in combination with manual therapy in the second and third stages. In cases of failure, passive exercise under interscalene block, manipulation under general anesthesia, or arthroscopic arthrolysis should be considered.     

Frozen shoulder — treatment and results

Even today the aetiology of the frozen shoulder is still under discussion. At the Orthopaedic Department of the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, 118 persons with a frozen shoulder were treated as in- or outpatients between 1980 and 1988. We investigated the results of two different specific therapy concepts. Most of the patients received a mixture of drug therapy and physical rehabilitation under the guidance of a physiotherapist. In a smaller group of patients, the frozen shoulder was mobilized under anaesthesia (mobilisation force). After an average follow-up time of 3.8 years from the start of treatment, 93% of the patients was examined by means of an individual subjective rating (score). In addition, a clinical examination was performed in 69% of the cases. According to the subjective personal rating (score) as well as the improvement in range of motion, moderate mobilisation led to better results than the mobilisation under anaesthesia.     

Frozen shoulder. A long-term follow-up.

Sixty-two patients (sixty-eight shoulders) who had been treated non-operatively for idiopathic frozen shoulder were evaluated subjectively and objectively at two years and two months to eleven years and nine months of follow-up (average, seven years). Thirty-one (50 per cent) of these patients still had either mild pain or stiffness of the shoulder, or both. The range of motion averaged 161 degrees of forward flexion, 157 degrees of forward elevation, 149 degrees of abduction, 65 degrees of external rotation, and internal rotation to the level of the fifth thoracic spinous process. Thirty-seven (60 per cent) of the sixty-two patients still demonstrated some restriction of motion as compared with study-generated control values (calculated as the average motion, in each plane, for the thirty-seven unaffected shoulders of the patients who had unilateral disease). Ten patients had restriction of forward flexion; eight, of forward elevation; seventeen, of abduction; twenty-nine, of external rotation; and ten, of internal rotation. However, when the motion of each affected shoulder of thirty-seven patients who had unilateral involvement was compared with that of the unaffected contralateral shoulder, eleven (30 per cent) demonstrated some restriction. None of these patients had restriction of forward flexion; two had restriction of forward elevation; two, of abduction; seven, of external rotation; and seven, of internal rotation. The patients who had substantial restriction in three planes or more were thirteen times more likely to be men (p greater than 0.05). Marked restriction, when it was present, was most commonly in external rotation. Only seven patients (11 per cent) reported mild functional limitation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Frozen shoulder: a 12-month clinical outcome trial

A prospective study was undertaken of 73 patients with frozen shoulder syndrome who were treated with an arthroscopic capsulotomy. All of the patients were assessed for pain, function, and range of motion before surgery and were monitored through to 1-year follow up. Improvement in all parameters was achieved, with pain taking an average of 2.24 weeks to diminish and range of motion improving to within 10% of the other side at an average of 5.5 weeks after surgery. Patients were discharged with a full range of motion and without pain at an average of 8.9 weeks. There was, however, some mild reaggravation of most patients' pain within the postoperative period (mean 4.5 weeks). This pain usually settled with appropriate massage within a 2-week period. In 37% of cases, however, an injection of corticosteroid was required as part of the postoperative management. These cases were usually in that subgroup of patients who still had significant night pain and were in stage 2 or 3 of the disease process at the time of surgery. The postoperative results continued to the 12-month follow-up, with 11% of patients having a recurrence of pain or stiffness. This study has demonstrated that arthroscopic capsulotomy is an effective technique in the management of the frozen shoulder. It also has enabled the authors to document postoperative recovery times, which has given prospective patients realistic time frames of functional expectation in their postoperative recovery.     

Frozen shoulder: A systematic review of therapeutic options

Frozen shoulder is a common disease which causes significant morbidity. Despite over a hundred years of treating this condition the definition, diagnosis, pathology and most efficacious treatments are still largely unclear. This systematic review of current treatments for frozen shoulder reviews the evidence base behind physiotherapy, both oral and intra articular steroid, hydrodilatation, manipulation under anaesthesia and arthroscopic capsular release. Key areas in which future research could be directed are identified, in particular with regard to the increasing role of arthroscopic capsular release as a treatment.     

Painful shoulder syndrome

Painful shoulder syndrome was described by S.E. Duplay 1872. showing the patient with pain and stiffness of the shoulder after trauma. Codman et. al. at the beginning of 20th century expanded the syndrome on several causes of shoulder pain. Syndrome is characterized by pain and limitation of joint movements. One of the most common nontraumatic causes of shoulder pain is periarticular disorder. The potential sources of local or referred pain may be muscle, tendon, bursa or neurovascular structures. Secondary referral pain to the shoulder may be due to coronary artery disease, hepatic or splenic disease.     

The droopy shoulder syndrome

Droopy shoulder syndrome (DSS) is characterized by a depression of the shoulders that stretches the brachial plexus, thus causing pain without any signs of neurological impairment. We describe ten patients with DSS; all had been treated for different diagnoses before. Contrary to previous reports, three patients had unilateral involvement, and five had accompanying disease of the cervical-shoulder region. All patients responded well to conservative treatment in 2–10 weeks. DSS must be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of pain in the cervical-shoulder region, to prevent unnecessary medication. Received: 8 January 2000     

Tapia's syndrome following shoulder surgery

Multiple cranial palsy occurred after shoulder surgery in thesitting position. Compression by the tracheal tube, caused bydisplacement of the head, may have caused the injury. Br J Anaesth 2002; 88: 869–70