Frozen Shoulder –What Is It and How to Treat It

When your shoulder joints get locked up and you can’t move your hand in its usual range of motion, then you must be having a frozen shoulder. This will deter your hand and shoulder from functioning properly and you will experience a severe pain. This is mostly common among the menopausal or pre-menopausal women.

Frozen shoulder is generally categorized into two. However, there is no specific reason for the cause of this situation. Trauma, surgery, or illness may be some of the causes of a locked shoulder. Though it is very difficult to find the exact cause of this situation, one will feel irritation to the lining of the joint capsule. This irritation further leads to the creation of the mark tissue that restricts the movement of the arm bone and thus restricts the movement of the arm joint. 

There are many treatments for the locked shoulder joints and these range from chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture to cortisone shots. However, most of the cases go untreated. One of the best treatments to reduce the pain when you suffer this situation is to ice the affected area and to avoid activities since it can lead to worse situation like strain. 

Heavy activities in such a situation may also lead to SLAP lesions; it is an injury in which a part of the shoulder joint called the labrum is affected. The joint of the shoulder is a ball and socket joint; but the socket of the shoulder joint is very thin, and thus intrinsically unbalanced. Thus to make a balance for the shallow socket, it has a cuff of cartilage called a labrum forming a cup for the end of the arm bone helping it to move within.

A particular labral tear is known as the SlAP lesion; and this stands for Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior. People suffering from this situation often complain of severe pain deep within the shoulder or at the back of the shoulder joint.