Management of painful shoulder.

55 patients with 60 shoulders painful at rest, and with limitation of all ranges of movement, were treated with multiple injections of methylprednisolone acetate into the subacromial space and glenohumeral joint cavity. Pain was abolished in 80%, two weeks after starting therapy and 95% were pain-free four weeks after the first injection. Maximum functional recovery (at least 150 degrees abduction, 80 degrees internal rotation, and 45 degrees external rotation), was achieved in 90% of patients eight weeks after starting treatment. It is suggested that the "frozen" shoulder--i.e., pain-free shoulder with severe limitation of all movement--is the end result of a neglected painful shoulder and it is essential that painful shoulders be treated as early as possible if normal function is to be preserved.