aetiology and associations

Last reviewed 04/2022

Aetiology of the condition remain unclear    

Frozen shoulder may also be associated with another systemic illness (1)

• diabetes mellitus
• most common association of a secondary frozen shoulder
• incidence of frozen shoulder in diabetes patients is reported to be 10%-36% (incidence in type 1 and type 2 diabetes is similar)
• frozen shoulder in diabetes is often more severe and is more resistant to treatment
• recurrence risk is also higher
• Dupuytren's disease
• rarely a frozen shoulder may be associated with conditions such as
• hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and hypoadrenalism
• Parkinson's disease
• cardiac disease
• pulmonary disease
• stroke
  • in the case of stroke, shoulder stiffness may be the result of muscle spasticity in the shoulder region
• the development of a frozen shoulder has also been reported subsequent to non-shoulder surgical procedures, such as cardiac surgery, cardiac catheterisation through the brachial artery, neurosurgery, and radical neck dissection (1,2)

Reference:

• (1) Dias R et al. Frozen shoulder. BMJ 2005; 331:1453-1456.
• (2) van de Laar SM, van der Zwaal P. Management of frozen shoulder Orthopedic Research and Reviews 2014;6:81-90