Frozen Shoulder Investigations

Tests for Frozen Shoulder

There are no other tests needed for the diagnosis of frozen shoulder but in some instances your doctor might want to use investigations to rule out other conditions that can present in a similar way.

Some commonly used investigations in a patient with shoulder pain are:

Blood tests
Blood tests can help the doctor look for other medical complaints that may be causing shoulder pain. Your doctor may also want to check your blood to see if you might have diabetes or underlying arthritis

X-ray
Standard x-ray pictures can be useful sometimes. Your doctor might take an x-ray of the neck to check for arthritis or spondylosis in the joints. An x-ray of the shoulder itself might show calcium in the muscles or arthritis in the shoulder joint.

Ultrasound scan
An ultrasound scan is a very useful test for assessing a patient with shoulder pain. These scans are excellent at examining the muscles and tendons around the shoulder and will allow the doctor to detect an inflamed or torn muscle.

MRI Scan
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning is a very powerful technology. These scans are complex and expensive but do provide your doctor with a very detailed picture of the inner workings of your shoulder joint and it's muscles.

In my own practice I normally only arrange an MRI scan if I have significant doubt about the true diagnosis or if the whole picture of pain and limitation is more complex than usual.

If special die is injected prior to the x-ray or scan then the test is known as an "arthrogram."

Other Frozen Shoulder Pages on this site:

What is frozen shoulder?
Who gets frozen shoulder pain?
Diabetics and frozen shoulder pain
Diagnosing frozen shoulder
Frozen Shoulder Investigations
Tips for living with shoulder pain and frozen shoulder
Treating frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder injection
Frozen shoulder therapy
Acupuncture for frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder surgery
Alternative treatments for frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder medication
Recovery from frozen shoulder

Index of Painful Shoulder Conditions