Comparison of idiopathic, post-trauma and post-surgery frozen shoulder after manipulation under anesthesia

Manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) has been used to speed up the recovery of frozen shoulder, which is said to be a self-limiting process. We would like to elucidate the short- and long-term results of the treatment of frozen shoulders by manipulation under anesthesia and compare the results of idiopathic, post-trauma and post-surgery frozen shoulders. We applied an adjusted Constant score (Constant score after excluding the 25 points allocated for the assessment of muscle strength) to assess all patients. In our series, 47 cases with 51 frozen shoulders were collected and evaluated retrospectively. The adjusted Constant score at pre-manipulation was on average 22.8±4.9 (10–31) points. The score from the 3-week follow-up was 52.6±9.2 (31–67) points on average. The score from the averaged 82-month follow-up was on average 70.1±6.2 (54–75) points, with 23 shoulders scored for a maximum point number of 75. The score at the early and late follow-ups was significantly lower for the post-surgery group (63.2±6.7) when compared to the other two groups (P<0.001). Our results revealed that manipulation under anestheia is a very simple and noninvasive procedure for shortening the course of an apparently self-limiting disease and can improve shoulder function and symptoms within a short period of time. However, we found less improvement in post-surgery frozen shoulders, especially in residual pain and limited range of motion (ROM), which may be influenced by the initial injury or initial surgery. Although less improvement in pain and ROM was noted, manipulation is still a good and simple way to treat post-surgery frozen shoulders.