Bill Packt (Unregistered Guest)
|Posted on Friday, March 21, 2008 - 08:29: |
Hi, I am new to this community and my name is Bill. I am practicing in N.J. and I have graduated a year ago.
I wonder if there are similarities between a frozen shoulder condition and other joints inflammatory conditions, and why only the shoulder has gained such a discriptive terminology..?
Thanks for your ideas on this.
|Posted on Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 09:34: |
Welcome to the forum Bill... interesting question. Indeed, such terminology is more appropriate to Chinese medicine than western medicine. A frozen shoulder condition usually refers to an inflammation of the synovia of the joint, severe and painful restriction of movement thereof and frequently also adhesions of collagen growths inside the joint. This condition is marked, as said above, by painful restriction in movement of the whole arm, thereby earning the term frozen shoulder. Chinese medicine includes this syndrome within the realms of painful Bi, meaning a severe stagnation of Qi and blood, relating to the afflictions of cold and dampness, sometimes wind, and most often blood stasis. It may be the result of direct influence by the weather predominantly, or of a traumatic injury - in which blood stasis is predominant, either by symptoms and by the means taken to recover the condition. As in most Bi syndrome cases, cold weather tends to aggravate the pain as well as the restriction in movement, hence the term frozen gains additional impetus.
As far as I know, western medicine has not termed additional joint inflammatory conditions as frozen. There is no frozen knee or ankle etc., this is despite the fact that similar phenomenon may acftually occur in other joints as well. Chinese medicine has indeed acknowledged the fact that other articulations of the body may present similar symptoms and signs, hence the broader term of Bi Zheng. As stated above, each presentation of Bi syndrome needs to be further analyzed in order to pinpoint the leading or predominant nature of the Bi therein. E.G., wind, cold, damp, blood and their possible conjunctions.
|Posted on Sunday, March 23, 2008 - 09:10: |
The simple answer is that there are 2 reasons why the shoulder is prone to injury resulting in stasis.
The joint is the large
The joint is complex, which gives it greatest versitility of any other joint in the body. The more complex a structure that is finely designed the more things can go wrong. eg: frozen computer. Hehe. Couldn't resist that contemporary analogy.
|Posted on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 03:51: |
Other joints in the body tend not to "freeze" to the same extent as the shoulder.
My experience with "frozen shoulders" tells me that the tendon of the supra spinatus muscle is generally the one that is sore at its point of insertion (Co.15 & TH14) Note the tendon bifurcates and thus there are two major attachment points onto the top of the humerus. Hence the two acupuncture points there.
When the Supraspinatus tendon overworks it causes pain and that pain can and does radiate down the arm in a dagger like pattern.
Now, to fix almost every "frozen shoulder" problem it is merely a matter of releasing the antagonist muscles which pull the arm down or forward.
These are: Pec Major, Sub Scap, Infraspinatus, Teres major, Teres minor, Coracobrachialis, Longhead of the Triceps, Biceps, and to a small extent the Lat Dorsii.
This can be fairly easily worked out by a differential diagnosis which relates to how much movement the arm has laterally and anteriorly and check the "bra movement" as well.
ALSO and at your peril ignore it...is any tighness on the TVP's of the neck vertebrae from C3, 4, 5 or 6 where the Scalene muscle attach The major nerves which innervate 99% of the muscles of the shoulder girdle exit from here. Thus, tight scalene origins on the TVPs on the affected side equals a problem of nerve compression which will markedly reduce the blood flow to these muscles causing them to tighten up.
These also need releasing.
Dont forget the humerus can only lift laterally to 110 degrees before it hits the Acromium process and then the Scap has to rotate.
If the Rhomboids are tight then it wont.
So....loosen the Rhomboids too.
Hope this helps
Please ask more if you need some further explanations Phil Macqueen Brisbane Australia