If you have shoulder pain, don't always blame it on frozen shoulder! If this happens, be alert.

Expert of this article: Wang Qiuyuan, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Doctor of Medicine

As people age, they will have some minor problems from time to time. Especially in middle age, many joints in the body begin to become stiff, lifting heavy objects becomes more and more difficult, and the arms and shoulders always feel unable to stretch, and sometimes they will feel pain. For people who often work and study at a desk, shoulder pain is also common.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

At this time, many people will think that they have frozen shoulder, but does it mean frozen shoulder as long as the shoulder hurts? Can it be relieved by more activities? Read on.

What is frozen shoulder?

Scapulohumeral periarthritis is a general term for all inflammations of the tissues surrounding the shoulder joint. In our daily lives, we often call it "frozen shoulder", which refers to the pain, stiffness and adhesion of the shoulder joint that often occurs in middle-aged and elderly people around the age of 50 or 60. The patient's shoulder joint is like being frozen, so the medical term is called "frozen shoulder".

Due to the severely limited function of the shoulder joint, the patient cannot lift his arms, turn over in sleep, or complete daily housework. Even slight physical activity may stimulate the patient's adhesion shoulder joint and cause severe pain. It can be said that he feels "completely useless."

What causes "frozen shoulder"?

The most important manifestation of frozen shoulder is that both active and passive movements of the shoulder joint are limited. That is to say, not only can the patient not lift it up on his own, but other people also cannot lift it up with help. This is due to severe contracture and adhesion of the soft tissue of the shoulder joint.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

It is related to several factors:

Age, the incidence is high in middle-aged and elderly people around 50 or 60 years old. If young people experience shoulder pain, they often do not consider frozen shoulder. It is mostly caused by cervical spondylosis caused by desk work or aseptic inflammation of the muscles and soft tissues around the shoulder joint, as well as rotator cuff tendon injuries caused by exercise.

Due to chronic shoulder pain caused by various reasons, the shoulder joint activity gradually decreases due to the pain. Gradually, the shoulder joint's mobility also deteriorates, and the soft tissue around the shoulder joint also contracts.

Chronic underlying diseases, especially diabetes, tumors and uremia. Chronic underlying diseases can cause peripheral vascular lesions, ischemia and contracture of the soft tissue around the shoulder. This situation is different from the previous two, and often manifests as acute stiffness of the shoulder joint, that is, the shoulder joint suddenly cannot move. Therefore, if acute shoulder joint stiffness occurs, you must be vigilant.

Does shoulder pain necessarily mean frozen shoulder?

In fact, frozen shoulder is a very broad and imprecise concept. In the past, due to limited knowledge of shoulder joint diseases, all shoulder joint pain was often considered frozen shoulder. In recent years, our understanding of shoulder joint diseases, especially the causes of shoulder joint pain, has greatly improved, and frozen shoulder is already an outdated concept in the medical field.

There are many reasons for shoulder pain, not necessarily frozen shoulder. One of the important reasons is the damage of the rotator cuff tendon. Our humeral head is wrapped like a sleeve by a group of tendons, namely the rotator cuff, which is composed of the tendons of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. The flexible movement of the shoulder joint in all directions is inseparable from the pulling of these tendons in all directions.

Copyright image, no permission to reprint

Rotator cuff tendon injuries caused by various reasons, such as tearing due to violence, or friction, impact, tearing, calcification due to chronic strain, make the rotator cuff unable to perform its normal function, and cause pain and limited movement of the shoulder joint.

One of the diseases is called subacromial impingement syndrome. We can feel a bony protrusion above the scapula and on the outside of the clavicle, called the acromion. The rotator cuff tendon tissue just mentioned runs in the gap below the acromion. If our acromion is shaped like a bird's beak, then as our shoulder joint is abducted and raised, the tendon will collide with the "bird's beak" below the acromion. This repeated collision will cause damage, degeneration, and even rupture of the rotator cuff tendon, which is an important cause of rotator cuff injury.

Shoulder pain require more exercise?

If you have shoulder pain, you should not exercise blindly. You must identify the cause. If the shoulder pain is caused by rotator cuff injury, more exercise may aggravate the rotator cuff injury. If the shoulder joint gradually loses its range of motion due to chronic pain, you can do some functional exercises to prevent the aggravation of the soft tissue contracture around the shoulder, such as "hand climbing the wall" and "lucky cat" movements.

In daily life, pay attention to maintaining the correct posture and avoid bowing your head for a long time. Diabetic patients should pay attention to monitoring and controlling blood sugar. If you feel that your shoulder joint has limited movement, you should seek medical attention in time to avoid further damage and adhesion of tendon soft tissue.

The cover and watermarked pictures of this article are from the copyright gallery. The pictures are not authorized for reprinting.