‘Frozen shoulder’

Frozen shoulder (FS), also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a painful inflammatory fibrotic disease of the glenohumeral joint capsule. While it’s frequently self-limiting, patients can be symptomatic for years. The clinical course is often divided into three phases: the freezing phase with predominantly pain, the frozen phase with mainly stiffness, and the thawing phase during which the complaints slowly resolve. Diagnosing FS can be challenging during the freezing phase as the symptoms in this phase are similar to other common shoulder conditions (such as subacromial pain syndrome). Treatment options include analgesia, physical therapy, corticosteroid injections, hydrodilatation, manipulation under anaesthesia, and arthroscopic release. Despite the many treatment options, there is no clear treatment guideline. Based on recent literature, conservative management is indicated as it can provide temporary symptom reduction. Due to significant risk of complications, surgical management should only be considered if patients retain complaints despite long-term conservative therapy.

Conflict of interest and financial support: none declared.