There are many patients who have frozen shoulder in clinical practice. So, what exactly is “frozen shoulder”?
At present, the diagnostic usage of “frozen shoulder” is rather confusing, and there are generally three meanings: one is shoulder pain, but the diagnosis is unclear, so it is generally called “frozen shoulder”, which means “waste paper basket”. The second is the pain syndrome that causes shoulder dysfunction, i.e., “frozen shoulder” in the broad sense, which has been used less and less and replaced by a more accurate diagnostic term. These include: rotator cuff tear, calcific supraspinatus tendonitis, subacromial bursitis, biceps longus tendon tenosynovitis, rostral or rostro-humeral ligament inflammation, frozen shoulder, acromioclavicular arthritis, suprascapular nerve entrapment, subacromial impingement, and other specific localized and qualitative terms; thirdly, it refers specifically to “frozen shoulder” (Frozen Shoulder). Frozen Shoulder
The exact cause of “frozen shoulder” is not known, but may be related to autoimmune reaction or endocrine disorders. In general, patients feel that there may be no cause. The disease can occur over time if the shoulder joint is immobilized or has little movement. As a result of the lack of movement of the joint, local metabolic disorders, blood and lymphatic circulation are blocked, resulting in degenerative changes, exudation and fibrosis around the joint such as the joint capsule, rotator cuff, biceps tendon and rostro-humeral ligament, which greatly restrict the movement of the shoulder joint.
This disease is also known as “fifty shoulder” because of its high incidence around the age of fifty, and in Chinese medicine it is called “frozen shoulder” or “leaky shoulder”. The main symptom is pain in the shoulder, especially at night. There is a significant restriction in the forward flexion, abduction and internal and external rotation of the shoulder joint. Over time, deltoid atrophy can occur, and the patient will experience dysfunction in raising the arm, washing the face, combing the hair, and tying the buckle.
Clinically, it is found that most of the patients who come to see the doctor have gone through inappropriate treatment, such as relying only on a large number of painkillers, looking for others to massage and break hard, using hot water heat therapy and so on. In fact, they all missed the best opportunity for treatment. The best opportunity is at the time of the onset of the disease, and often through reasonable rest and ice treatment can get a rapid and complete recovery. In fact, the patients who come to the clinic are usually very late and the course of the disease is usually more than 3 months old. In this case, recovery can only be achieved through a longer scientific rehabilitation.
What is scientific recovery? Here is a brief description.
General Frozen Shoulder Treatment “Trilogy”
1. Hot compress.
The temperature can be around 40 degrees. Hot towels are not as easy to control as hot water bags. Each time 20-30 minutes is enough. It can properly promote local blood circulation and help the next step of shoulder joint function exercise;
2. Shoulder joint functional exercise.
The most common functional deficiencies of the shoulder joint seen in patients are abduction (shoulder lift), external rotation and internal rotation (shoulder turn), etc.. Therefore, the content and methods of exercise are mainly based on the deficient functions.
The movements are mainly as follows.
(1) Bending and turning the shoulder
(2) Finger climbing wall
(3) The healthy side of the shoulder and hand help to pull the affected side of the hand and shoulder.
Two main movements are included.
Internal retraction (in front of the chest) and internal rotation (behind the back).
(4) With the affected shoulder and upper arm close to the side of the body, use the healthy hand to push the affected forearm outward (external rotation of the shoulder joint at 0 degrees).
(5) Pulley pulling exercise
There is a key point to the movement, that is, to try to make each action to the maximum extent, that is, to feel more pain, or feel the limit. However, special attention needs to be paid to never over-involvement, so as not to cause unnecessary damage. This degree in your exercise is gradually experienced. When the action has reached its maximum extent, generally maintain 1-2 minutes on it.
Above the main 5 kinds of movements, as long as you practice a cycle can be completely. If there is no condition, E action is not necessary to practice. Other movements are well practiced, you can get good results completely.
3.Ice packs.
The last part of the 3-part series is the ice, but also an extremely critical one. Because in the process of exercise, the tissues around your shoulder joint are stretched to the maximum extent, so it is likely to cause swelling or even small bleeding of the tissues, and it is necessary to cool down such tissues to reduce the further aggravation of the limited mobility of the shoulder joint caused by tissue damage and bleeding.
Of course, the point to note here is that after these 3 steps of exercise every day, the pain can be restored to the level of the previous day or even lighter the next day. If there is a tendency of significant aggravation, it means that the method of exercise may be incorrect or the exercise is too much, etc., and you need to find a doctor immediately for another consultation.
Seniors don’t have to worry too much, as icing after an activity will generally have no adverse effect on your shoulder joint. Of course, the method of icing must be scientific.
After the above 3-part exercise, you will generally see significant results in 3-6 months. There is also no need to take any pain medication throughout the process. This is because the majority of people do not have pain to the extent that they need to be relieved with medication.