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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffWhile you may initially consult your family physician, he or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in orthopedic medicine.
What you can do
You may want to write a list that includes:
- Detailed descriptions of your symptoms
- Information about medical problems you've had
- Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
- All the medications and dietary supplements you take
- Questions you want to ask the doctor
What to expect from your doctor
During the physical exam, your doctor may ask you to perform certain actions, to check for pain and evaluate your range of motion. These may include:
- Hands up. Raise both your hands straight up in the air, like a football player who's just made a touchdown.
- Opposite shoulder. Reach across your chest to touch your opposite shoulder.
- Back scratch. Starting with the back of your hand against the small of your back, reach upward to touch your opposite shoulder blade.
Your doctor may also ask you to relax your muscles while he or she moves your arm for you. This test can help distinguish between frozen shoulder and a rotator cuff injury.
Your doctor may also check the musculoskeletal and neurological health of your shoulder joint and arm by testing your:
- Reflexes
- Muscle strength
- Muscle tone
- Sensation
- Canale ST, et al. Adhesive capsulitis. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/118357423-5/797903506/1584/341.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-03329-9..50047-7--cesec41_2408. Accessed Jan. 29, 2009.
- Anderson BC. Frozen shoulder. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 29, 2009.
- Krabik BJ, et al. Adhesive capsulitis. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/118477770-4/798285468/1678/13.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50012-2_144. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
- Noble J, et al. Periarticular rheumatic disorders: Shoulder area. In: Noble J, et al. Textbook of Primary Care Medicine. 3rd ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2001. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/118477770-6/798316122/959/864.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-00828-3..50139-4--cesec16_4159. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
- Neurological tests and procedures. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/misc/diagnostic_tests.htm. Accessed Jan. 30, 2009.
- An introduction to acupuncture. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction.htm. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Miller RD. Management of chronic pain: Rehabilitation. In: Miller RD. Miller's Anesthesia. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier; 2005. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/119273143-5/0/1255/1.html?tocnode=53060557&fromURL=1.html#4-u1.0-B0-443-06618-3..X5001-4--TOP_1. Accessed Feb. 6, 2009.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 6, 2009.
