What Is a Frozen Shoulder?
3. Stages of Frozen Shoulder
Patients with primary frozen shoulder may have no significant findings in their patient history, physical examination, or radiographic tests. Their condition can be divided into pain, stiffness, and thawing. The stages of frozen shoulder begin at stage 1 where there can be a gradual onset of pain in the shoulder lasting from weeks to months. This can go on for as long as 9 months.
Stage 2 is known as the frozen or stiffening stage where there is progressive loss of range of movement lasting from 4 to 20 months. Most patients lose the ability to abduct, internal rotate, and external rotate during this phase. The final stage or stage 3 is known as the thawing phase that can last from 5 to 26 months. During this phase, there is gradual motion improvement.
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