Nonprogressive abduction contracture of the shoulder joint. A case report.

Nonprogressive abduction contracture of the shoulder joint in a 32-year-old woman became clinically obvious only when the shoulder became painful following minor trauma. The tether in the deltoid muscle appears to have been present from an early age, but had been well compensated by abnormal scapular posture. No etiological factors could be discovered, but there was an unsubstantiated family history of similar problems. Only one comparable case has been found in the literature, and this unusual presentation seems not to have been described previously. The patient responded well to conservative treatment.