Patients with Frozen-Phase Frozen Shoulder Demonstrated Improvement of Pain and Mobility of Forward Elevation and Internal Rotation After a Single Glenohumeral Injection of Corticosteroids

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the improvement in frozen-phase frozen shoulder (FS) patients’ pain and shoulder mobility, including passive forward elevation (FE), external rotation (ER), and internal rotation (IR), after 2 consecutive intra-articular corticosteroid (IACS) injections.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study was performed from July 2020 to November 2023. All patients with frozen-phase FS received 2 ultrasound-guided IACS injections at 6-week intervals. FE, ER, IR, and visual analog scale scores were measured at each follow-up consultation with a 6-week interval.

Results

A total of 134 patients finished the study. There were varying degrees of change in pain relief and range-of-motion improvement between each IACS injection. FE and IR improved significantly between the first and second injections (P = 5.2 × 10⁻²⁴ and 1.1 × 10⁻²¹, respectively), whereas ER only improved significantly after the second injection (P < .05). The pain level improved both after the first injection and after the second injection (both p < .001).

Conclusions

Patients with frozen-phase FS show improved pain, FE mobility, and IR mobility after a single IACS injection. However, a second IACS injection provides similar therapeutic effects and significantly improves ER mobility.

Level of Evidence

Level III, retrospective cohort study.