A frozen shoulder, medically known as adhesive capsulitis, is a condition characterized by limited movement of the shoulder joint. Its cause has never been very clear but it is happens when the capsule around the shoulder joint contracts forming a scar tissue inside the joint. A person suffering from a frozen shoulder experiences stiffness inside the shoulder for apparent reason. This is basically because the shoulder is a ball and socket joint which makes it capable of allowing more movement and flexibility than other body joints. The ball and socket of the shoulder joint is covered by a capsule of tissue. The capsule might contract and engulf the joint resulting in a limitation in the number of movements inside the joint. The contraction leads to formation of scar tissues around the joint that are called adhesions. It is these adhesions that make movements inside the joint very painful.

A frozen shoulder usually happens without any apparent cause like an injury or infection. In some cases, a frozen shoulder might result from a traumatic shoulder injury. Some risk factors associated with a frozen shoulder pain include age and gender. As far as age is concerned, most people who experience this condition are aged between forty and sixty years. Women are more likely to suffer a frozen shoulder than men. Diabetes patients are also prone to suffer from this condition because of disorders in their endocrine system, for example abnormalities in the thyroid.

Undergoing a surgery procedure in the shoulder joint has also been known to be a risk factor for a frozen shoulder. Shoulder surgery is usually followed by long periods of limited shoulder movements. This limitation of movement is likely to cause a frozen shoulder. Besides injury and surgery, other conditions that lead to a frozen shoulder include diseases such as Parkinson’s and heart conditions.