The onset of frozen shoulder is mostly around the age of fifty, commonly known as the “fifty shoulder”. The general symptoms of frozen shoulder are: stiffness and inflexibility of the shoulder joint, localized pain, and obvious pressure points, especially at night when the pain increases. When a doctor examines the shoulder joint, there will be a “creaking” sound and the pain will be unbearable. In order to treat frozen shoulder well, we need to understand the symptoms of frozen shoulder so that we can treat it. Zhang Lei, Department of Acupuncture and Tuina, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University
In the early stage of frozen shoulder, there is spontaneous pain in the shoulder, some of them are acute, but most of them are chronic, and some of them only feel uncomfortable and binding sensation in the shoulder. The pain is mostly confined to the anterolateral aspect of the shoulder joint and may extend to the resisting point of the deltoid muscle, often involving the scapular region of the shoulder meatus, the upper arm or the forearm. The pain is aggravated by activities such as shrugging or internal rotation of the shoulder while wearing a shirt, and the affected hand cannot comb the hair or wash the face. The shoulder pain increases rapidly afterwards, especially at night, and the patient does not dare to take the side lying position.
The common self-exercise methods for frozen shoulder are.
1.Finger climbing wall: Patients stand facing the wall, lift their hands up, hold them on the wall and try to climb upwards, trying to climb higher than the previous day.
2.Back extension squat: Patients stand in front of the table with their backs turned, hold their hands back on the edge of the table and do squatting repeatedly to strengthen the back extension activity of the shoulder joint.
3.Hold the head with both hands: stand with both feet shoulder-width apart, hold the back of the head with both hands; pull the two elbows apart, parallel to the body; close the two elbows, seemingly holding the head, and repeat the process.
4.One-handed shoulder press: Take the right shoulder as an example. Two feet like bow stance, right foot in front, more than a foot from the table; left foot in the back straight. The right hand is placed on the table, the left palm presses the right shoulder, using the body to swing downward and backward.
5, expand the chest and shoulders: stand on both feet, shoulder-width apart, put both hands in front of the chest, both elbows and shoulders straight, the back of the hands on the top, palms facing down. Expand the chest, separate the shoulders, breathe in; breathe out when replying.
6.Spin the peri-shoulder method: Take a sitting position, put the palm of the left hand against the right shoulder, spin the peri-shoulder 50-100 times to make it feel warm, and change hands.
7.Spin the shoulder: The patient stands, the affected limb drops naturally, the elbow is straightened, and the affected arm draws circles from the front upward to the back downward, the amplitude is from small to large, repeated several times.
Once you have frozen shoulder, taking painkillers can only temporarily relieve the symptoms, and most of them will relapse after stopping the medication. Exercise is the best prevention and treatment plan, and it is more effective if you can insist on exercise and cooperate with acupuncture and massage.
Frozen shoulder should be noted daily.
1. Strengthening physical exercise is an effective way to prevent and treat frozen shoulder, but it is important to stick to it. If you do not insist on exercise and rehabilitation, it will be difficult to restore the function of shoulder joint to normal.
2. Malnutrition can lead to weakness, and weakness often leads to frozen shoulder. If nutrition is adequately supplemented and proper exercise is done, frozen shoulder can often be cured without medication.
3. Cold is often a trigger for frozen shoulder, so in order to prevent frozen shoulder, middle-aged and elderly people should pay attention to keeping their shoulders warm and protected from cold. Once you catch a cold, you should not delay treatment.
4.Strengthening the exercise of shoulder joint muscles can prevent and delay the occurrence and development of frozen shoulder. According to a survey, the chances of frozen shoulder attack dropped by 80% in people with developed shoulder joint muscles and high strength.
5.When doing upper limb lifting or back rotation, you should rub and press the shoulder with small angle swing first to make the shoulder muscles relax before performing the action, so as not to strain the shoulder tissues.
6. It is not advisable to lift heavy objects on the affected upper limb, and pay attention to local warmth to prevent recurrence.