Hydrodilation
Shoulder joint hydrodilatation is the preferred treatment for a frozen shoulder. This condition causes pain and stiffness in your shoulder joint. This condition commonly can be precipitated by a fall or other traumatic event but can occur spontaneously without any obvious cause. If untreated the effects may last up to 18 months before they resolve.
The process of a shoulder hydrodilatation is an injection into the shoulder joint, which helps stretch the tight shoulder joint capsule and reduce inflammation in the joint, improving your shoulder movement and relieving your shoulder pain.
The process
The injection contains a mix of local anaesthetic, anti-inflammatory medication, and normal saline to provide volume enough to stretch the capsule. The injection is guided by a sonographer using an ultrasound machine to ensure accurate needle placement.
After the procedure, we provide a manipulation under local anaesthetic, which helps maintain the increased joint space allowing better movement.
Potential Outcomes
The hydrodilatation injection followed by an in-office joint manipulation is the best management for this common condition.
After this procedure we engage your physiotherapy team over the next four weeks to repeat the exercise process. This combined treatment provides greater than ninety percent of our patients with a virtual recovery of this otherwise very debilitating condition.