Der Orthopäde
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Painful stiffness of the shoulder is an ill-defined clinical entity that is difficult to assess and delicate to treat. The nomenclature used is broad and includes terms such as frozen shoulder, adhesive capsulitis, focal algodystrophy, stiff shoulder, contracted shoulder, and others. Apart from its idiopathic form, the disease can be initiated by trauma, infection, tumour, radiation, systemic and local metabolic disturbances. ⋯ In the inflammatory phase, aggressive treatment protocols are probably contraindicated. Complications of invasive protocols are rare but deleterious and therefore have to be taken into consideration. New anti-anglogenetic agents may enhance functional results and shorten the rehabilitation phase.