How to Diagnose a Frozen Shoulder

Frozen shoulder, or adhesive capsulitis, is the gradual stiffening and loss of motion in the shoulder due to an underlying trauma, such as a torn tendon or a fractured arm bone. Sometimes frozen shoulder is the side effect of a stroke. Diagnose frozen shoulder and have it properly treated.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Explore the origins of your shoulder pain. Decide whether your shoulder feels stiff all over or just in one place.
2. Examine your bursa. Find this area by using one hand to reach perpendicularly across your chest and touch your opposite shoulder. Pain that is confined to this area indicates bursitis, not frozen shoulder.
3. Recall how long you have been in pain and whether it has increased. A shoulder that stiffens gradually and loses its range of motion may indicate frozen shoulder.
4. Recall whether the pain has grown continually or whether it has come in waves. Pain that flares and recedes with long periods in between may be a form of arthritis and not frozen shoulder.
5. Test your freedom of motion. See if you can pat your head, get dressed comfortably and reach your lower back. The inability to perform any of these things may be a sign that you have frozen shoulder.
6. Test your injured arm against your other arm to gauge your "normal" motion zone. Lift an object, or hold a weighted item in your hand and rotate outward from the shoulder. Two very different performances point to frozen shoulder.
7. Consider recent stress on your shoulder. Recall any incidents where you lifted something too heavy, or where you pulled or were pulled by something that may have torn a tendon in your shoulder. Repetitive motion, such as overhead lifting, could also be a culprit.
8. Visit a doctor. Tell her about your medical history or any recent traumas and let her diagnose your condition definitively.

Tips & Warnings

• Frozen shoulder is easily distinguished from bursitis. In bursitis, the pain is largely localized in one spot beneath the cap of the shoulder.
• Those with diabetes and bone deformities have an increased risk for frozen shoulder. They should have a doctor diagnose any reduced range of motion and make a healthy habit of stretching daily, even after rehabilitation.