Comparison of pain, as well as the condition of the cervical and dorsal spine, in patients with idiopathic and secondary frozen shoulder syndrome

 Frozen shoulder syndrome is a pathological condition associated with pain and restricted glenohumeral joint movement. It is divided into two types: idiopathic and secondary. The present study aimed to compare pain, as well as the condition of the cervical and dorsal spine, in patients with idiopathic and secondary frozen shoulder syndrome.

This analytical observational study was conducted on 25 women with idiopathic frozen shoulder and 30 women with secondary frozen shoulder, referring to clinics of Tabriz, who were purposively selected. The pain level was measured using a visual analog scale, the posture of the cervical spine was measured using a photograph, and the posture of the thoracic spine was measured using a flexible ruler. An independent t-test was performed to compare the mean values of the variables. The data were analyzed using SPSS software at a significance level of 0.05.

The obtained results demonstrated that there was a significant difference in the comparison of pain between patients with idiopathic and secondary frozen shoulder (P=0.001). Nonetheless, the comparison of the posture of the cervical spine revealed no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.057). However, the thoracic spine arch was significantly higher in patients with idiopathic frozen shoulders than in the secondary group (P=0.002).

Pain and thoracic spine arch were more common in idiopathic frozen shoulder patients than in secondary patients. Although the difference in the condition of the cervical spine in the two groups was not significant, it is generally necessary to evaluate the posture of the spine to treat the pain of patients with frozen shoulders, especially idiopathic patients.