Abstract
Despite an abundance of information about frozen shoulders, larger prospective studies on the outcomes of intervention are limited. The purpose of our study was to assess the functional and clinical outcomes with a further aim to analyse the independent effects of diabetes and BMI. A prospective cohort study of all 210 primary frozen shoulders over a 12 - month period was analysed. The Oxford Shoulder score was used to assess functional outcomes before and after interventions. Further demographic data was collected. The effect of interventions including steroid injections, arthroscopic release and manipulation was analysed. 54% patients responded to intra-articular steroid injections. Patients with recalcitrant symptoms (46%) had an arthroscopic release. Failure of initial injection therapy was higher in diabetes [70%] than non-diabetes [44%] patients. After surgery, the Oxford shoulder score improved from a mean of 41.6 to 27.2 at 3 months [p < 0.05]. 85% of patients had satisfactory resolution of symptoms with external rotation improving from a mean of 10.5 ° to 61.3 ° [p < 0.05]. There was no statistical significance in outcomes of patients with BMI of >_30 and <30. Understanding the outcomes of surgical intervention is important in counselling patients with frozen shoulder. We found that patients with diabetes had higher failure rates of conservative management and increasing needs for multiple surgery but complete resolution of symptoms can still be achieved and that BMI status in isolation was not a predictor of poorer outcome.