Diabetic Frozen Shoulder
A little known complication of diabetes is a condition called Frozen Shoulder (medical name: adhesive capsulitis.)
Frozen shoulder is a condition in which adhesions in your body’s joints (typically the shoulder) cause severe pain and restrictive movement.
Prior to my diagnosis, I spent several years with limited range of motion in my shoulder and a burning pain sensation that rarely, if ever, went away. It was never actually diagnosed as frozen shoulder, but looking back, that’s undoubtably what it was.
The shoulder tends to eventually “unfreeze” and the pain goes away (to some extent at least), but people have been known to suffer from frozen shoulder for up to five years.
For me, anti-inflammatory drugs helped as did massage therapy and chiropractor visits. The pain radiated so much and was vague enough in its presentation that my family doctor was never able to diagnose it.
Additional Resources:
Wikipedia Entry on Frozen Shoulder
Diabetes In Control: Frozen Shoulder
