Frozen Shoulder

Without any particular injury, tissue inside the shoulder undergoes degenerative change and becomes inflamed. It commonly appears after 50, though lately it is far from rare in the 30s and 40s.

Expert VerifiedInjun EoDirector

Frozen Shoulder

Q. How do I tell frozen shoulder from a rotator cuff tear?

Q: How do I tell frozen shoulder from a rotator cuff tear?

A simple distinction you can try at home. Frozen shoulder — the shoulder is stiff and hard, and the arm will not go up either on its own or with help from another person. There is pain across the shoulder joint as a whole Rotator cuff tear — lifting the arm unaided is difficult, but it goes up fairly easily when another person lifts it Some people have both, however, and a long-standing rotator cuff problem can lead on to frozen shoulder. We do not settle it on this distinction alone; we measure the range of movement to confirm.

If the arm goes up when someone else lifts it, we think of the rotator cuff first; if it still does not go up, frozen shoulder.

📝 Detailed Answer

A simple distinction you can try at home.

Frozen shoulder — the shoulder is stiff and hard, and the arm will not go up either on its own or with help from another person. There is pain across the shoulder joint as a whole
Rotator cuff tear — lifting the arm unaided is difficult, but it goes up fairly easily when another person lifts it

Some people have both, however, and a long-standing rotator cuff problem can lead on to frozen shoulder. We do not settle it on this distinction alone; we measure the range of movement to confirm.

Expert Verified

Injun Eo

Director

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If the arm goes up when someone else lifts it, we think of the rotator cuff first; if it still does not go up, frozen shoulder.

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