Baseline correlation between pain, range of motion, disability, and health-related quality of life variables in subjects with frozen shoulder: A cross-sectional study

Frozen shoulder (FS) is a debilitating condition affecting the glenohumeral joint. As FS frequently manifests as a chronic condition, it intensifies pain and leads to disability and to a deterioration in overall quality of life, affecting physical, behavioral, mental, and social dimensions.

While the impact of pain on disability is widely acknowledged, recent literature highlights a growing body of evidence indicating the correlation between pain and health-related, social, and mental distress and unfavorable outcomes in patients with FS.

Up to day, the need for pain to be avoided or alleviated as much as possible has been challenged, with a paradigm shift from traditional biomedical models of pain towards a biopsychosocial model of pain disorders. Research has further shown that psychological factors might affect the function and quality of life in patients with pain and can modulate the individuals’ pain experience and therefore may play a role in the development and/or maintenance of chronic pain states.

As the current healthcare pathway for subjects suffering from FS often inadequately addresses these healthcare needs, and professionals tend to predominantly concentrate on biological and clinical symptoms, the aim of this study will be to explore correlations among Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for pain, and disability, health-related domains, and ROM measurements in individuals with FS during their initial physiotherapy consultation