The stiff and painful shoulder
The 2 main causes of a stiff painful shoulder are:-
- Capsulitis, also known as a Frozen shoulder or Adhesive Capsulitis
- Arthritis of the shoulder Joint
However sometimes the shoulder can stiffen because you are too sore or too weak to move or when you are worried/apprehensive about moving your arm.
Frozen shoulder
People often report a very painful and stiff shoulder that begins suddenly without any reason. Frozen shoulders can be the cause of pain and stiffness in your shoulder. It is a self-limiting condition that can improve without treatment but this can take several months or on some occasions, years.
The shoulder is a ball and socket joint. The joint is surrounded with a loose fibrous capsule. During the development of a frozen shoulder the capsule can become inflamed and tightens over time. This can happen in either one or both shoulders.
You’re more likely to get a frozen shoulder if you’re aged between 40 and 60, and it’s slightly more common among women. There is a strong link between frozen shoulders and smoking. If you need help with stopping smoking the click HERE to take you to ‘Quit Your Way’ smoking cessation advice.
People with certain health conditions, such as diabetes, thyroid issues, lung disease, heart or neck problems, are more likely to develop the condition. If you have diabetes, a frozen shoulder may take a bit longer to get better. It is important to make sure that you are taking care to control your diabetes.
On some occasions a frozen shoulder can occur following an injury, trauma or surgery where the capsule becomes inflamed and then gradually stiffens. However, it’s often not clear why people get a frozen shoulder.
The main features of a Frozen Shoulder include:
- Pain: Usually described as a constant, often severe toothache pain with a sharper pain occurring on certain arm movements.
- Stiffness: the shoulder will be stiff in some or all movements particularly reaching above and turning your arm away from your body.
- Typically sleep is affected and not easily changed by moving position in bed.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a very common condition.
It very commonly affects weight bearing joints such as the knee or hip but can also affect the shoulder. In a healthy joint, a coating of tough but smooth tissue, called cartilage, covers the surface of the bones and helps the bones to move freely against each other.
When a joint develops osteoarthritis, part of the cartilage thins and the surface becomes rougher. This means the joint doesn’t move as smoothly as it should. This can be part of a normal aging process and we may not be aware of it. However, sometimes there can be pain, inflammation and swelling associated with this process which can cause pain and stiffness.
Arthritis can either affect the main ball and socket joint of the shoulder or the small acromioclavicular joint at the top of the shoulder.
Diagram 1: Picture of the Arthritis Process in the Shoulder
Versus arthritis website is a useful website for further information on arthritis – Click HERE for more information.
How can you tell if you have a stiff shoulder?
Your medical history (from the information provided above) will help determine if you’ve had a previous condition or injury that could make you more likely to develop a frozen shoulder. A diagnosis can be provided by how you move your arm. The video provided below will show you what movements can stiffen with a frozen shoulder.
f you are still unsure if you have a frozen shoulder or arthritic shoulder joint from the video information, then please contact your GP or first contact practitioner for a full examination.
Click HERE for a printable version of this section.