Frozen Shoulder

It affects women more often than men – usually at midlife – and, in many cases, no one is quite sure why. Writer Lisa Kadane was one of those medical mysteries. She shares her journey, along with a few tips on how to cope while waiting for the thaw.

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THE FIRST TIME AN ELECTRIC JOLT OF PAIN SHOT down my right arm from my shoulder, I was reaching behind my back to tuck in my shirt. It felt like a lightning bolt zapping me for 20 seconds. A few days later, it happened again – this time, I slipped in ski boots and flung my arm up to catch myself. I immediately doubled over from searing pain caused by the sudden movement. At the same time, my range of motion was slowly decreasing. Everyday tasks like styling hair, putting on a fitted shirt and reaching for top-shelf pantry items were becoming more difficult.

My shoulder had been acting funny for months –weirdly loose, clicking upon rotation and sore at night if I slept on my right side. I could no longer ignore the fact that something was wrong. X-rays and an ultrasound came back with no sign of obvious injury, yet the pain and stiffening still persisted. Eventually, my family doctor referred me to a sports-medicine specialist, who made a quick diagnosis after testing my range of motion and strength: frozen shoulder.

WHAT IS FROZEN SHOULDER?

Frozen shoulder (FS), also called adhesive capsulitis, is a condition where the connective tissues surrounding the shoulder joint become inflamed and scar tissue forms inside the capsule, causing extreme pain and stiffness. It affects between three and five percent of the population, most commonly women between the ages of 40 and 60, says Dr. Ryan Bicknell, a shoulder and elbow surgeon and an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and mechanical and materials engineering at Queen’s University in Kingston, ON.

It’s also more common in people with diabetes and hypo thyroidism, possibly because those conditions involve abnormalities of the endocrine system, which – among other duties, such as insulin production and hormonal balance – works to regulate inflammation in the body.

A MEDICAL MYSTERY