Arthroscopic adhesiolysis exerts beneficial outcomes for elderly patients with post-traumatic frozen shoulder: study

Wang et al conducted a study to investigate the efficacy and risk factors associated with arthroscopic adhesiolysis in treating elderly traumatic frozen shoulder. The study has been published in ‘Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.’

One hundred and two elderly patients with post-traumatic frozen shoulder were selected. The patients were randomly divided into a study group and a control group, with 51 cases in each group. The study group was treated with arthroscopic adhesiolysis, and the control group received physical therapy combined with joint manipulation.

Key findings of the study:

• There were no significant differences in age, sex, BMI, disease duration, affected side, and Gerber classification between the two groups (P > 0.05)

• The operation time and intraoperative blood loss of the study group were (54.98 ± 5.94) min and (53.28 ± 4.93) ml, respectively.

• The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) (0.87 ± 0.12, P = 0.021), Present Pain Intensity (PPI) (0.76 ± 0.07, P = 0.016), and Pain Rating Index (PRI) (5.32 ± 0.32, P < 0.001) scores were lower in the study group than the control group at 3 months post-treatment.

• Moreover, no significant differences were seen in terms of pain relief, daily living activities, shoulder joint function, and muscle strength between the two groups before the treatment; however, at 3 months post-treatment, the study group demonstrated better outcomes in these dimensions compared to the control group (all P ≤ 0.021), with notably improved shoulder joint mobility (all P < 0.001).

The authors concluded that – ‘Taken together, arthroscopic adhesiolysis is proven to be effective in significantly improving clinical symptoms, alleviating pain, restoring shoulder joint function and mobility, and reducing the occurrence of adverse reactions in elderly patients with post-traumatic frozen shoulder. However, age and fat infiltration are considered risk factors that may influence the efficacy of this surgical treatment in this specific patient population.’

Further reading:

Arthroscopic adhesiolysis exerts beneficial outcomes for elderly patients with post-traumatic frozen shoulder., Wang et al. Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research (2025) 20:311, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-025-05734-y