Shoulder pain does not necessarily mean frozen shoulder. If pain persists or there are special warning signs, you should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

2026/09/10 11:16

Shoulder pain and inability to lift your hands may not necessarily mean "frozen shoulder". If the pain lasts for several weeks, or special warning signs appear, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible to clarify the cause. (Picture taken from shutterstock)

[Reporter Luo Bi/Taipei Report] Many people intuitively think of shoulder pain and inability to lift their hands as "frozen shoulders"; but there are many reasons behind shoulder pain. Guo Jiayu, an attending physician at the Rehabilitation Department of Cathay General Hospital, said that pain may come from tendons, bursae, joint capsules, bones or nerves, and even cervical spine, heart disease, infection and tumors may also manifest as shoulder pain. If the pain lasts for several weeks or special warning signs appear, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible to clarify the cause.

Guo Jiayu pointed out that frozen shoulder is one of the common causes. Typical symptoms include significant limitation of active and passive activities, frequent pain at night, inability to sleep on the affected side, and getting stuck when dressing, combing hair or reaching behind the back. It is more likely to occur between the ages of 40 and 65, and patients with diabetes and thyroid disease are at higher risk. Recent studies have also suggested that frozen shoulder may be related to high blood sugar, metabolic abnormalities, chronic inflammation and hormonal changes after menopause.

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Another common cause is calcific tendinopathy. When acutely inflammatory, the pain may be sudden and severe, making it unbearable to even move the arm slightly. Shoulder pinch syndrome often causes pain when raising the hand, holding high objects, swimming or playing ball. It may be related to factors such as rotator tendon degeneration, bursal inflammation, and repetitive loading.

Rotator tendinopathy or tears may also cause shoulder pain, difficulty lifting heavy objects, or arm weakness. If you are suddenly unable to lift your arm or your muscle strength decreases significantly after a fall, sudden pull, or lifting of heavy objects, you should suspect a larger rotator muscle tear. Prolonged delay may cause tendon shrinkage and muscle atrophy.

Less common but not to be ignored are SLAP lesions, which are upper joint labral tears. They are common in throwing athletes, those who support the ground with their hands when falling, or those who perform shoulder activities for a long time. They may experience deep shoulder pain, clicking sounds, a stuck feeling, and unstable force output. Those with unstable shoulder joints or repeated dislocations may feel that their shoulders are about to "slip out."

Guo Jiayu reminded that some shoulder pain is not actually a problem with the shoulder itself. Cervical nerve root compression may cause pain, numbness, tingling or weakness from the shoulder to the arm. Heart disease sometimes also causes metastatic shoulder pain. Although infections and tumors are rare, they cannot be ignored.

It is worth noting that if the pain at night is unexplained and continues to worsen, it also hurts at rest, or it is accompanied by fever, weight loss, shoulder swelling, and does not improve after general treatment, you should be alert to less common causes such as infection or tumor, and receive further examination as soon as possible.