Manipulation under anaesthesia for frozen shoulders: outdated technique or well-established quick fix?

[摘要] Frozen shoulder (FS), also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a common cause of a painful shoulder with restricted motion. It affects approximately 2% to 4% of the general population, mainly middle-aged persons, and occurs more frequently in women than men.1,2 Loss of passive external rotation is the most characteristic finding at physical examination. The French physician S. Duplay first described the condition as ‘peri-arthritis scapulo-humerale’ in 1872.3 Some 50 years later, Codman was the first to coin the term ‘frozen shoulder’ and formulated the Codman criteria for the diagnosis of FS (Table 1).4 Codman already described FS as ‘difficult to define, difficult to treat and difficult to explain’.5 Nowadays, FS still is a condition with uncertainties about the aetiology, controversies about the optimal treatment strategy and the timing of intervention.

[学科分类] 神经科学

[关键词] frozen shoulder;adhesive capsulitis;manipulation