Long-term follow up to patients with frozen shoulder after mobilization under anesthesia, with special reference to the rotator cuff.

UNLABELLED: In order to evaluate the efficacy of mobilization under anesthesia as a therapy for frozen shoulder, 43 patients with a mean age of 52.8 years were examined after an average time of 4.7 years. Since some authors have been concerned about rotator cuff tears, special attention--using sonography--was paid to rotator cuff lesions.
RESULTS: Clinical and sonographic examinations were very similar and showed a perfect recovery in 27 of 37 patients (73.0%). The average time off work after mobilization was 6.2 weeks compared with expected spontaneous recovery of about 30 months. Outcome was worse in patients with previous trauma to their shoulder. In 2 patients (5.4%) the sonography revealed a slight rotator cuff tear, which is not uncommon in 60-year-old persons. Two additional patients (5.4%) underwent shoulder surgery two years after mobilization due to a persistent impingement syndrome and to a supraspinatus-tear. We conclude, that mobilization under anesthesia for frozen shoulder is an effective treatment modality causing little harm.