The conditions that can be mistaken for a frozen shoulder include osteoarthritis, shoulder impingement, bursitis and rotator cuff tears as these conditions cause similar pain and limit arm movement like a frozen shoulder also causes.
Wear and tear in the joint with osteoarthritis causes gradual stiffness, although X-rays also reveal joint space narrowing, instead of capsular restriction.
Pinched tendons in shoulder impingement cause pain during overhead tasks, although lack the deep, global stiffness of a frozen shoulder.
Bursitis, which results in inflammation of the fluid filled sac in the joint also causes severe night pain and restricted movement, although it doesn't cause the permanent joint capsule tightening that is seen in a true frozen shoulder.
And damage or a tear in the tendons with rotator cuff tears can cause sharp pain and limit movement, although unlike with a frozen shoulder, it often causes noticeable muscle weakness.
Frozen shoulder is also defined by having a complete loss of movement, which is both when you try to move it and when someone else moves your arm for you.
Rotator cuff issues feature muscle weakness where passive movement might still work and frozen shoulder also often starts for no clear reason, while the other above problems often link to a specific injury, fall or overuse.
The four stages of frozen shoulder are the pre-freezing stage, the freezing stage, the frozen stage and then the thawing stage.
The pre-freezing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts around 1 month to 3 months and you will often feel sharp or aching pain when you move your arm and the pain often gets worse at night and your range of motion is also still mostly normal, but feels tight.
The freezing stage of a frozen shoulder, lasts from 2 to 9 months and the pain becomes much more intense and constant and you rapidly lose your ability to move your shoulder and daily tasks such as sleeping on that side also become very hard.
The frozen stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 4 months to 12 months and the severe pain begins to fade or dull and the stiffness is now at it's absolute worst, which locks the joint and moving your arm in any direction is also difficult.
And finally the thawing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 5 months to as long as 2 years, stiffness begins to break up and normal movement as well as flexibility also slowly return and strength and use of your arm improve with gentle practice.
You will often know if you have a frozen shoulder by looking out for the signs and symptoms of a frozen shoulder, which include a dull, aching pain and a gradual loss of movement.
A frozen shoulder develops slowly in 3 distinct phases, which includes the freezing stage that occurs with severe pain, the frozen stage that occurs with heavy stiffness and then the thawing stage where the motion slowly returns.
The main signs of a frozen shoulder include having a dull or aching pain that is deep in your outer shoulder, having pain that gets worse at night or when you try to sleep on that side, having trouble lifting the arm overhead, experience difficulty reaching behind your back and having a locked or stuck feeling in the shoulder joint.
The 3 stages of a frozen shoulder include the freezing stage, frozen stage and thawing stage.
In the freezing stage of a frozen shoulder, the movement of your shoulder hurts badly, and your range of motion also begins to drop.
This freezing stage of a frozen shoulder lasts from 6 weeks to as long as 9 months.
In the frozen stage of a frozen shoulder, the pain begins to ease up, although your shoulder also becomes much stiffer and harder to use for daily tasks, which lasts from 4 months to 12 months.
And then the thawing stage of the frozen shoulder, is where movement begins to improve and slowly return closer to normal.
This recovery from the frozen shoulder in the thawing stage can take from 5 months to as long as 24 months or 2 years.
A frozen shoulder, is also known as adhesive capsulitis, which causes pain and severe stiffness in the shoulder joint.
Frozen shoulder's occur when your connective tissue capsule that surrounds the joint thickens up and tightens.
Recovery from a frozen shoulder can take from 1 year to 3 years and moves through the 3 distinct phases, which include the freezing, frozen and thawing stages.
The common treatments for a frozen shoulder include a gentle range of motion stretching and physical therapy, over the counter anti-inflammatory medications, corticosteroid injections to reduce any swelling and in rare cases, surgical procedures or manipulation that is done under anesthesia if the other treatments fail.