[Medical Q&A] Is shoulder pain in the elderly the same as frozen shoulder?

Planner: Chinese Medical Association

Reviewer: Han Liqiang, deputy chief physician, Tianjin Third Central Hospital

We often see elderly patients who come to the hospital after suffering shoulder pain for a long time. When we ask about their condition, they basically say that they have had shoulder pain for half a year or even more than a year, but have never received relevant treatment. When we ask why, the answers we get are consistent: they thought it was frozen shoulder, and as long as they exercise more, it will get better without treatment. This idea is inappropriate.

Frozen shoulder, also known as "periarthritis of the shoulder", is more common in middle-aged and elderly people around 50 years old, hence the name "frozen shoulder". This is an inflammatory disease around the shoulder joint, manifested as shoulder pain, limited movement, joint stiffness, etc., and it is a self-limiting disease, which generally heals itself in about 1 year. There are many clinical causes of shoulder pain, the most common of which are frozen shoulder and rotator cuff syndrome (that is, rotator cuff injury, mainly manifested as shoulder pain and limited movement when the shoulder is abducted and raised), and the two are often easily confused. Frozen shoulder patients need to strengthen the functional exercise of the affected limb, while if patients with rotator cuff syndrome strengthen the exercise of the affected limb, the condition will worsen, which is also the reason why many patients complain that the more they exercise, the more pain they feel. If symptoms of shoulder pain occur, it is best for a doctor to determine what the cause is, so as to avoid blind exercise that worsens the condition.