“The Fifty-Year-Old Shoulder”: Anatomy of a complex problem

Article type: Article Commentary

Authors: O’Sullivan, Declan^{; *}

Affiliations: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Declan O’Sullivan, Physiotherapy Department, School of Allied Health, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: Frozen Shoulder remains one of the most misunderstood pathologies to affect the shoulder joint. Frozen Shoulder is characterised by pain, loss of active and passive range of motion especially in flexion and external rotation with normal radiological findings undergoing three stages of presentation: initial pain, stiffness and near full resolution with time. Current treatment options include manual physiotherapy techniques, injection therapy, manipulation under anaesthetic and surgical release of shoulder capsule. Presently there remains a paucity of significant research supporting the sole use of any of these techniques in the treatment of frozen shoulder. Future studies should incorporate larger subject populations with closely related symptoms and be multicentred across a larger geographical area.

Keywords: Frozen Shoulder, shoulder capsule, manipulation under anaesthetic, rotator cuff, shoulder contracture

DOI: 10.3233/PPR-180110

Journal: Physiotherapy Practice and Research, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 85-90, 2018