Diabetes Cure Story
It started as a little achiness in her shoulder. But after several months of "just dealing with it," Eileen Foley found even ordinary tasks, such as washing her hair or fastening her brassiere, were painful and nearly impossible. And she couldn't get a good night's sleep. That's when Foley finally mentioned the problem to her primary care physician.
"I figured it was arthritis or just some other sign of age," says the 60-year-old northeastern Pennsylvania resident. But after an examination and some tests, her doctor suggested a more likely culprit behind her "frozen shoulder"—her type 2 diabetes.
"I had no idea there could be a connection," says Foley.
That's no surprise to Mary Jane Myslinski, PT, EdD, a New Jersey-based physical therapist who works with many patients with diabetes who have developed "frozen shoulder," or adhesive capsulitis.
"The patients I see usually have no clue their problem could be related to their diabetes," says Myslinski, an associate professor in the physical therapy doctoral program at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. "But this condition is not uncommon in these patients."
In fact, while adhesive capsulitis affects about 5% of the general population, it affects nearly 20% of people with diabetes. What actually causes the disorder is unclear. But patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are at higher than average risk for developing it. Age and duration of the disease can push that risk even higher.
"Educating patients with diabetes about the possibility of adhesive capsulitis is a good idea so they can be on the lookout for it and bring shoulder problems to their doctor's attention immediately," advises Myslinski. "Catching and treating it early always offer the best outcomes."
