Rheumatoid Arthritis Support

Movement of the shoulder is severely restricted. The condition is sometimes caused by injury that leads to lack of use due to pain but also often arises spontaneously with no obvious preceding trigger factor. These seemingly spontaneous cases are usually referred to as Idiopathic frozen shoulder. Rheumatic disease progression and recent shoulder surgery can also cause a pattern of pain and limitation similar to frozen shoulder. Intermittent periods of use may cause inflammation.

There is also a lack of synovial fluid, which normally helps the shoulder joint move by lubricating the gap between the humerus (upper arm bone) and the socket in the scapula (shoulder blade). It is this restricted space between the capsule and ball of the humerus that distinguishes adhesive capsulitis from a less complicated, painful, stiff shoulder. People with diabetes, stroke, lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and heart disease, or who have been in an accident are at a higher risk for frozen shoulder. Adhesive capsulitis has been indicated as a possible adverse effect of some forms of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

The condition rarely appears in people under 40 years old and (at least in its idiopathic form) is much more common in women than in men (70% of patients are women age 40–60). Frozen shoulder in diabetic patients is generally thought to be a more troublesome condition than in the non-diabetic population and the recovery is longer.

Cases have also been reported after breast or lung surgery.

thus it is a severe condition if treatment is delayed.


Adapted from the Wikipedia article Adhesive capsulitis of shoulder, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki