AIIMS Raipur orthopaedic surgeon shares real reason for middle-aged man’s frozen shoulder: ‘Sugar levels were sky high’

He shared a case study to illustrate the importance of body awareness and symptom observation in detecting major illnesses – and explained how a seemingly ordinary case of shoulder stiffness turned out to be an early warning sign for diabetes.

In the video he posted, Dr Chouhan shared that the patient initially sought treatment for severe frozen shoulder symptoms, including pain that disrupted sleep and difficulty with basic tasks like combing hair. However, the doctor realised the patient also exhibited other signs, such as frequent urination, excessive thirst, blurred vision, and tingling in the extremities, which are classic symptoms of diabetes.

What were the man’s symptoms?

Upon testing, Dr Chouhan revealed the patient was found to have severely elevated blood sugar levels, confirming a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, suggesting the shoulder problem was a secondary issue. In the video he posted, Dr Chouhan said in Hindi, “I am sharing with you a very interesting and useful piece of knowledge about how you can become aware of your body and detect serious illnesses in your body. A patient had come in with shoulder pain. The pain was so severe that it would wake them up at night. They could not lift their hands up. They had difficulty combing and buttoning. All these problems were present. Seeing this, we understood that they have the problem of frozen shoulder. Frozen shoulder means that the capsule of your shoulder gets jammed.”

He further said, “But along with this, the patient had other issues too. Such as frequent urination, frequent desire to drink water, slightly blurry vision, and tingling (numbness) in the hands and feet. So, all these symptoms are of diabetes. Meaning, people who have the disease of sugar (diabetes). When I got them tested for HbA1c and a sugar test, the levels were quite high. They had come to me for a shoulder ailment, but their main problem was diabetes mellitus, meaning the disease of sugar. The point is that retrospectively — by catching hold of a small symptom — we discovered a major illness. So, if you also have a shoulder problem, you can consider whether you might have diabetes.”

‘Body’s early whisper that diabetes had arrived’

Dr Chouhan added that 30 to 40 percent of frozen shoulder cases are associated with diabetes mellitus and advised people, especially those with pre-existing diabetes, to be proactive with shoulder exercises and diabetes management to prevent frozen shoulder.

“Furthermore, in 30 to 40 percent of cases of frozen shoulder, diabetes mellitus is certainly found. That means those who have diabetes mellitus may have the problem of a frozen shoulder, or those who have frozen shoulder may have the problem of diabetes. So, if you are already a sugar (diabetic) patient and taking medicine, you need to be extra careful that you do not develop frozen shoulder in your shoulder later. For this, you should do shoulder movements beforehand, take medicines, and control your diabetes (sugar) so that you can avoid a major problem in the coming time, which is frozen shoulder,” Dr Chouhan said.

He wrote in his caption: “A middle-aged patient walked into my clinic, complaining of shoulder stiffness and pain for months. He thought it was just ‘age catching up’. But something didn’t add up — the pain was out of proportion, and the shoulder had almost frozen. When I dug a little deeper and advised a simple blood sugar test, the results surprised him… and even him more than the pain — his sugar levels were sky high. That’s when it clicked: the frozen shoulder wasn’t just a shoulder problem — it was his body’s early whisper that diabetes had quietly arrived. Sometimes, our joints tell the story before the sugar does. If your shoulder suddenly becomes stiff and painful without injury — don’t ignore it. It might be your body’s way of warning you.”

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This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice.