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The shoulder stiffens and frees again over months — patience and movement are the treatment here.
Also known as: adhesive capsulitis · frozen shoulder
Open in the tool — with search and all the links →This compilation is for information and replaces neither medical diagnosis nor treatment. If you have symptoms, see a doctor.
The shoulder capsule inflames and shrinks — pain and growing loss of movement over months, often worst at night. Markedly more common with hypothyroidism and diabetes, ages 40–60, women more than men. Runs in phases over 1–3 years; physiotherapy is the core of treatment.
Three phases: months of pain first, then stiffness without much pain, then slow thawing. One to three years altogether, and in the end it becomes good again for the vast majority — even without an operation.
Hard stretching against the pain lengthens this phase. Move within the bearable range, treat the pain, secure sleep — the thawing comes afterwards by itself and is supported then.
Given early, cortisone in the joint capsule works better than tablets and makes sleep and exercises possible again. It changes nothing about the overall course, but much about everyday life in those months.
In a large share of those affected a so far unrecognised or badly controlled diabetes lies behind it. The shoulder is then the first sign — and treating the sugar also changes the course at the shoulder.
A warm shower or a heat cushion before the exercises makes the range of movement bigger for a few minutes. That is no treatment of the cause, but it makes the exercising possible.
It runs in three phases and lasts one to three years in total: first the pain, then the stiffness, then the slow thaw. It mostly affects people between forty and sixty, women more often; markedly more common with diabetes.
No treatment reliably shortens the whole course — frozen shoulder runs in three stages over one to three years and resolves by itself in most people. A cortisone injection into the joint works strongest in the painful first phase and takes the pain away for six to twelve weeks; given early it achieves more than late. Stretching within the low-pain range keeps movement; stretching beyond the pain prolongs the inflammation.
Lean forward, let the arm hang and circle it from the trunk — not from the shoulder. The joint moves without the painful muscles having to work.
Typical course: first pain, then stiffness, then slow recovery.
Low values are common with raised body weight because the vitamin is bound in fat tissue. Correcting it makes sense; as a means of losing weight there are no studies.
Involved in the action of insulin inside the cell. With poorly controlled sugar it is lost through the urine — a circle that can be closed.
The building material itself. Better from food than from a tin: hard cheese, yoghurt, calcium-rich mineral water, almonds, broccoli and fortified plant drinks.
Metformin lowers the uptake measurably over years. With tingling in the feet under this treatment B12 belongs checked before it is put down to nerve damage from the sugar.
Activates the proteins that build calcium into bone. Green leafy vegetables and fermented foods cover it — under coumarin blood thinning the amount stays steady rather than swinging.
With frozen shoulder a low level was found more often, especially together with diabetes. A causal link is not shown — measured and replaced if deficient.
500–1000 mg a day over 8 weeks; for frozen shoulder itself there are no dedicated studies. The course of this condition runs 1–3 years and recedes without treatment too — which makes any effect hard to judge.
Effective when deficient; effects on sleep and stress plausible but moderate. Too much causes loose stool.
Clearly worthwhile and well supported when deficient — vegan, older adults, certain drugs. No energy boost without a deficiency.
With thyroid disease frozen shoulder occurs several times more often than otherwise — several investigations have found this. A TSH value settles this part in one step.
The peak incidence is around menopause — falling oestrogen affects tendons and capsules.
Frozen shoulder occurs two to four times more often in diabetes and lasts longer there. Keeping sugar levels in range therefore shapes the course — over months, not days.
Warmth before the exercises widens the pain-free range for a few minutes — that is its purpose.