by on May 10, 2016
Frozen shoulder is a seriously debilitating condition that can significantly affect your daily functioning and cause a lot of pain and discomfort. It is characterized by a loss of shoulder mobility in nearly all directions of movement- as if the shoulder has literally frozen in place; and any attempts to move it can be incredibly painful.
Not only can you not move your arm, but also your doctor cannot move your arm without inflicting pain. In technical terms, there are restrictions in both active range of motion (you creating the movement yourself) and passive range of motion (the doctor creating the movement for you) 1. External rotation movements, such as washing your hair, are usually the worst 1.
Also known as adhesive capsulitis, frozen shoulder occurs when the shoulder capsule (the connective tissue surrounding the joint) becomes inflamed, thickened and potentially even scarred1. Pain can be excruciating, and usually gets worse at night, particularly when lying on the affected side, and with cold weather 2.
