How and how to treat capsulitis of the shoulder joint?

It has long been noticed: the more important the joint is for human life, the more it is susceptible to various diseases. One of such "weaknesses" of the body is the shoulder, and a serious violation in its work is capsulitis of the shoulder joint. This disease has many names, for example, adhesive arthritis, shoulder-shoulder periarthritis, or simply “frozen shoulder”, but with any of the diagnosed diagnoses, delayed treatment or its absence can lead to disability. Therefore, immediately when the first signs of the disease appear, you need to contact a specialist.

Causes of occurrence

To date, the true causes of the disease have not been determined, but all qualified specialists agree that what could become a provoking factor. First of all, these are various shoulder injuries. Any inflammation, rush of the brachial ligaments or surgery may become a condition for the diagnosis of the disease in the future.

In addition, adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder joint may occur:

• with overloads on the joint;
• diabetes mellitus, which is treated with insulin;
• neurotrophic disorders;
• diseases of the spine;
• chronic diseases of the joints (bursitis, periarthritis, and so on);
• metabolic disorders;
• oncological diseases;
• failures in the hormonal background;
• cardiovascular disease;
• professional loads on the joints of the shoulder;
• atherosclerosis.

As a rule, the disease lasts for many months. As a result, it can completely disappear or develop into a disability. It all depends on the degree of inflammation, the characteristics of the body and the stage of the disease at which treatment began.

Symptoms of the disease

In order to diagnose violations in time and seek help from a specialist, you should pay attention to the following signs:

• limited amplitude of rotation of the joint;
• pain when moving the arm;
• stiffness of the entire joint;
• reduction of the joint cavity several times.

So, capsulitis of the shoulder joint, the symptoms of which can often be noticed on its own, should be treated immediately to avoid further complications. This disease is serious and can manifest itself both in acute form and in chronic relapse.

Symptoms in different periods

At various stages, the disease manifests itself in different ways. At first, the patient feels only pain in the shoulder area, which intensifies after hard work and exercise. It is at this moment that one should consult a doctor in order to prevent the development of pathology into disability in time. The first period lasts about six months, after which painful sensations begin to be accompanied by a restriction of mobility. At this time, the patient is not able to turn his hand inward, and the pain develops into spontaneous cramps that prevent sleep and do not go away without taking pain medications. It is interesting that the wrist and elbow move completely freely and painlessly. The last stage of the disease is usually considered the recovery period, when mobility returns, and the pain becomes less vivid. Only a specialized specialist knows how to treat capsulitis of the shoulder joint correctly, therefore, at the first signs, you should seek help from a doctor who will prescribe the necessary procedures.

Diagnosis of the disease

Which doctor treats capsulitis of the shoulder joint? Usually this is done by an orthopedic surgeon. When visiting a specialist to determine the exact diagnosis, he can ask the patient the following questions:

• information about similar problems with relatives;
• the presence of diabetes;
• the presence of shoulder injuries in the past;
• symptom description;
• list of medications taken;
• duration of symptoms;
• physical exercise;
• the presence in the past of operations on the shoulder joint.

In addition, the specialist must visually assess the degree of immobility before treating capsulitis of the shoulder joint, so the patient will have to perform the following steps if necessary:

• raise your arms as high as possible;
• reach with the back of your hand to the opposite shoulder blade;
• reach the shoulder through the chest with the opposite hand.

Also, the doctor himself can move the patient’s hand in the right directions, following the patient’s sensations. Thus, it can be determined if the joint is simply damaged or if a serious problem really develops in it. For reinsurance, a specialist can prescribe instrumental methods of diagnosis, since there are times when external signs indicate a completely different disease.

Among such studies:

• MRI
• X-ray
• Ultrasound
• general clinical blood test.

Having excluded other pathologies in this way, one should also know that capsulitis of the shoulder joint, the symptoms and treatment of which are described above, with prolonged therapy can cause an even greater decrease in joint mobility and reduction of its cavity. This form of the disease is called adhesive.

Types of disease

Before treating capsulitis of the shoulder joint, its variety should be correctly diagnosed. Today, experts distinguish only two types of disease:

• idiopathic;
• post-traumatic.

Post-traumatic capsulitis occurs after various injuries of the joint. These include tendon ruptures, fractures, surgical interventions, and other inflammatory processes in the past. Even a successful joint operation is not able to guarantee that the disease will not occur in the future, therefore, with such injuries, you should more closely monitor the condition of the body and prevent the disease with preventive methods, but more on that later.

The first occurs most often in representatives of the weaker sex during hormonal changes in the body, that is, in 40-60 years. This is due to impaired functionality of the nervous system, circulatory and respiratory organs, cancer and functional disorders of the cervical spine.

Treatment methods

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder joint, the treatment of which often involves surgery, can also be eliminated by conservative methods. These include recreational physical education, which, when used correctly, helps to start the natural process of body restoration, reduce pain, and sometimes even eliminate them.

Performing physical exercises is always accompanied by anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as physiotherapy. The only case when such therapy does not work is a rupture of the muscles of the shoulder joint. In this situation, most likely, you can not do without surgery.

Procedure Efficiency

In this case, as in many other diseases, the effectiveness of therapy depends on the stage of inflammation at which the exposure began. If the treatment was taken immediately, in the first months of the onset of pain, then the result will be positive. In the case of neglect of the condition of the joint, conservative therapy will not bring visible improvements. The rehabilitation process in such a situation will take a lot of time and begin to bear fruit only after a marked restoration of joint mobility, which is achieved by complex therapy.

Comprehensive Impact

How to treat shoulder capsulitis without surgery at an acute stage?

For this, the specialist prescribes the following drugs:

• NSAIDs orally;
• painkillers orally;
• anti-inflammatory drugs topically, in the form of ointments;
• physiotherapeutic effect;
• local injections of glucocorticoids.

It is important to regularly exercise. If the disease does not go away with such a complex treatment and gradually develops into a chronic one, the doctor prescribes surgery.

Chinese medicine

The effect on the body of the methods of Chinese medicine, acupuncture, has not been fully studied, but capsulitis of the shoulder joint, the treatment of which is not amenable to standard procedures, quickly becomes painless with such effects. But be that as it may, initially it is better to consult a qualified doctor.

Medical treatment

Sometimes a doctor may prescribe invasive procedures to patients. They are performed under general anesthesia. While the patient is sleeping, the doctor moves the shoulder joint, weakening the muscles. In the case of applying great strength, the patient may experience bone fractures, you should know about this in advance.

Also, purified water can be injected into the joint cavity to stretch the capsule or steroids to reduce pain.

Only if all of the above methods are ineffective, the patient is prescribed surgery to remove adhesions and scar tissue inside the joint.

Tools at hand

In addition to medical treatment for the elimination of capsulitis, alternative methods can also be used, but after consulting with your doctor first. Sometimes the specialist himself can give recommendations on the use of various compresses or infusions. So, capsulitis of the shoulder joint how to treat folk remedies? Such a disease facilitates its course with compresses with Dimexide, cold blue clay, wax or paraffin.

Rubbing the alcohol mixture of camphor, mustard and egg white or butter with ointment from burdock root also gives a positive effect. Daily intake of decoction of lemon balm, eucalyptus, pine buds, hawthorn, St. John's wort and other herbs also alleviates the patient’s condition, but the use of healing drink should be carried out for at least a month to achieve the effect.

Preventative measures

All of them come down to the prevention of shoulder overload and injuries. First of all, you should monitor the correct position while working at the computer. It is also necessary to maintain the body's water balance, breathe correctly and avoid stressful situations and physical overload. Many are used to holding the phone with their shoulders during a conversation, which also negatively affects their condition. In his spare time, you need to do physical exercises that will relieve tension in the neck and back, and will also maintain sedentary muscles in good shape. To do this, you need to smoothly, without sudden movements, perform turns and tilts the head in different directions. After that, perform alternate movements of the shoulders and strain the neck muscles.