Do I have to go to the doctor if I have “shoulder pain”? ”Shoulder pain is not only common in orthopedics. In addition to orthopedic causes, shoulder pain can be caused by irritation of the diaphragm due to liver, biliary or pancreatic disease, or by a tumor in the lung tip. Cardiogenic pain can also be felt in the shoulder. Since orthopedic causes of shoulder pain are more common, it is recommended to consult an orthopedic clinic first. To obtain the correct diagnosis and treatment for “shoulder pain”, it is important to see a specialist shoulder surgeon or orthopedic sports medicine doctor for a definitive diagnosis. This is because the differential diagnosis of shoulder pain cannot be based on medical equipment alone, but must be based on a clinical examination by a medical professional. An experienced shoulder surgeon can often make a more accurate diagnosis by taking a careful history and conducting a careful physical examination. What is frozen shoulder? When do I need to seek medical attention? Frozen shoulder is short for periarthritis of the shoulder joint, also known as “frozen shoulder”, “fifty shoulder” or “frozen shoulder”. Frozen shoulder is more common in middle-aged and older people between the ages of 40 and 70, with a prevalence of about 2% to 5%, and is more common in women than men. In the same age group, those with heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and cervical spondylosis are higher than healthy people. It often develops unilaterally, and in a few cases, it develops bilaterally at the same time, and in some patients, one side is healed and the other side develops again. The causes of this disease are related to decreased hormone levels, moisture, cold and chronic strain. The disease has a tendency to heal on its own, which means that most patients will heal after a few years without treatment. The main symptoms of this disease include two aspects: first, shoulder pain, sometimes involving the back of the neck and upper arm, and pain that is pronounced at night. Second, limited movement of the shoulder joint, which affects daily life such as washing, combing and dressing. Frozen shoulder, in essence, is adhesive capsulitis. It is a condition in which the soft tissues of the shoulder joint muscles, tendons, ligaments and joint capsule become congested and edematous. If your arm is painful when you extend it forward, backward, upward, outward, or rotate it inside or outside, and if you are unable to comb your hair and wash your face, shower and rub your back, or grab the handrail when riding in a car because of pain, you may have frozen shoulder. If the condition affects your mood, sleep, diet, daily life or work, you should seek prompt medical attention and treatment. How does TCM recognize frozen shoulder? Frozen shoulder is also known as Leaky Shoulder Wind in Chinese medicine. The term “wind” refers to a disease evil. “Wind is the longest of all diseases. Wind has the characteristic of holding cold, damp, heat and other pathogens to invade the body; clinically, wind-cold is the most common evil. When you are old and weak, with insufficient positive energy or are suffering from trauma to the shoulder, the wind-cold evil is prone to take advantage of the weakness and enter. When cold invades the meridians, the blood vessels become stagnant and “pain is caused when they do not pass”, so pain is the main cause of shoulder pain. If cold invades the tendons and joints, the movement of the joints will be restricted and the flexion and extension will be unfavorable.