The problems with steroids as they relate to diabetics is that steroids may have a shorter duration of benefit and can cause a significant jump glucose levels.

Frozen shoulder can be a real immobility nightmare.  The stiffness and pain that are characteristic of the musculoskeletal disorder can turn simple arm movements into pure torture. The medical term is known as adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder and and it is the most common upper body disorder to affect diabetics.

Although shoulder problems may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of adverse diabetes side-effects. Most diabetic complications are associated with the internal organs and neuropathy problems with the feet. But the complications that excess sugar in your bloodstream causes knows no limitations when it comes to undermining a diabetics health.

But now the results from an observational trial about frozen shoulder have been published in Diabetes Care. The author of the report, Flavia Santoboni, of the University of Rome believes that extracorporeal shockwave therapy may offer a safer alternative to surgery or steroid injections to treat diabetic frozen shoulder.

The problems with steroids as they relate to diabetics is that steroids may have a shorter duration of benefit and can cause a significant jump glucose levels. “Therefore, it would be preferable to avoid steroids and opt for alternative therapies in these individuals,” the authors state.

Doctors are increasingly certain that excess glucose  impacts the collagen in the shoulder. Collagen is a major building block in the ligaments adhere bones together in a joint. Unfortunately when sugar molecules attach to the collagen, it can make the collagen gummy. The buildup  inevitably causes the shoulder to stiffen, and the pain prevents the arm from moving.

Doctors believe that rather than opting for steroids, diabetics with frozen shoulders should consider other options to reduce the pain and increase the mobility in their shoulders.