To detect the value of high frequency ultrasound for assessment of frozen shoulder.

Sixty-three involved shoulders of 57 frozen shoulder patients diagnosed by an orthopaedic doctor from April 2014 to October 2015 in Sichuan Provincial Peoples′ Hospital were included in this study. There were also 50 shoulders of 25 patients without any shoulder symptoms included into the control group at the same time. Shoulder ultrasound was performed to measure the thickness of coracohumeral ligament (CHL) and glenohumeral capsule, to count the abnormality of echotexture, thickness and blood flow in rotator cuff interval, and the abnormality of the sheath of biceps tendon for all participants.

The mean thickness of CHL and capsule in the patient group were greater than that in the control group [(3.00±0.65) mm vs (1.30±0.56) mm, (3.60±0.97) mm vs (1.80±0.65) mm, both P<0.01]. Ultrasound didn′t detect any abnormality at the rotator cuff interval among all 50 shoulders in the control group. While 24 cases were detected an decreased echotexture with increased thickness and blood flow in the rotator cuff interval, with a greater detecting rates than the control group in the patient group (χ²=24.18, P<0.01). There were 57 cases detected with significant effusion around the biceps tendon, 25 (43.9%) of them also demonstrated a thickened sheath of biceps tendon with or without blood flow in the patient group. But there was no significant effusion around the biceps tendon in the control group (χ²=91.28, P<0.01).

Highfrequency ultrasound could be used to assess the thickening of CHL and capsule, the abnormality of rotator cuff interval and sheath of biceps tendon, which is very important to the diagnosis of frozen shoulder.