The Link Between Diabetes and Frozen Shoulder
- Prashant Kale
- 29 Jul 2022
23/05/2022 Blogs 0
The Link Between Diabetes and Frozen Shoulder
If you have stiffness and pain in your shoulder, you may be suffering from a condition known as a frozen shoulder. A frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, occurs when you have swollen, hard connective tissue around your shoulder.
This inflammation can make it difficult to carry out daily activities, and as your condition worsens, your pain and stiffness can become debilitating.
People with diabetes have an increased risk of developing frozen shoulders because uncontrolled blood sugar levels affect collagen, an important protein that makes up your connective tissue.
What is frozen shoulder?
A frozen shoulder is a painful condition in which your shoulder loses some or all of its mobility. This condition usually occurs in three different phases:
- Freezing phase: This occurs during the first six weeks to nine months. Your shoulder aches and you lose most of your range of motion.
- Frozen stage: This period lasts four to 12 months, during which the pain becomes more manageable, but your mobility decreases to a greater extent with decreasing stiffness.
- Digestion stages: Every hour after six months for many years from the first symptoms, you know that exercise will improve and you can keep up with many tasks. Every patient has a unique experience with a frozen shoulder. Timely appropriate intervention can reduce the seriousness of your personal affairs.
What does diabetes have to do with frozen shoulder?
If you have persistently high blood sugar, sugar molecules can stick to collagen. Collagen is an important protein that forms the connective tissue that holds your joints together.
When sugar sticks to collagen, it sticks, so mobility can be restricted and your shoulder will start to stiffen.
When you try to work with perseverance, it causes pain from mild to severe. In some cases, your shoulder may not move.
What are other risk factors?
Long-term immobility of your shoulder, if it were in a cast, for example, puts you at risk of developing frozen shoulder. The condition can also occur after you’ve experienced injury, such as a rotator cuff tear.
Women are more susceptible to the condition than men are, and those ages 40-60 are most likely to develop frozen shoulder.
