Frozen Shoulder

We see a vast amount of non-surgical conditions at our orthopedic urgent care clinic, Direct Orthopedic Care (DOC), which is located in the Boise area. Our physician assistants (PA), with the help of our sport medicine physicians, Dr. Craig Smith and Dr. Mark Williams, help patients to manage and treat their conditions . One of the most common conditions they manage is known as frozen shoulder.

What is frozen shoulder?

Often referred to as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder is a condition that limits range of motion in the shoulder joint. The capsule around the shoulder contracts, causing scar tissue or adhesions to form. There are known risk factors for frozen shoulder. First, women are more commonly affected, and are at an even higher risk if they are between the ages of 40 and 60. Additionally, patients who are affected by diabetes are at a higher risk for developing adhesive capsulitis. Finally, patients who have a shoulder injury or surgery are at a high risk for developing frozen shoulder due to prolonged periods without shoulder movement.

Diagnosing frozen shoulder can be difficult due to the non-specific nature of the symptoms. In particular, many of the symptoms that patients present with are similar to those of a rotator cuff tear. Usually, patients decide to see an orthopedic specialist because of the persistent pain associated with frozen shoulder. Rarely do patients recognize their lack of range of motion. For an accurate diagnosis of frozen shoulder, the provider must be able to isolate the movement within the joint.

How to treat frozen shoulder

Treatment of frozen shoulder includes physical therapy and pain relief measures, such as anti-inflammatories. In most cases, stretching and physical therapy are the only treatment necessary. These non-surgical treatment options can be ordered by any of our providers at DOC. Patients can take up to 3 years to have symptoms fully resolve, but in most cases the healing time is roughly 12-18 months. Initially, the pain is the worst in the first few months, and it slowly improves over time with treatment.

In the most severe cases, surgery may be considered. The surgical procedure used for adhesive capsulitis is arthroscopic capsular release, where the surgeon’s task is to break up the scar tissue. This procedure is immediately followed by physical therapy, which increases the likelihood of post-operative success.

If you have any concerns about your shoulder, walk-in to DOC!