Glenohumeral joint including hydrodilatation

Cause, clinical and ultrasound findings

• Capsulitis can be idiopathic, but it can also be due to trauma or can be degenerative or the result of inflammatory arthropathy. It can be due to a secondary disorder such as diabetes mellitus.

• Clinically, the patient presents with pain and a reduced range of motion with a hard end feel compared with the unaffected side. Usually the loss of movement follows a capsular pattern (Cyriax). Pain in the inflammatory phase is constant and worse at night, and it can refer below the elbow. Resisted tests are usually painless and strong, with the exception of medial rotation, which can be painful.

• No specific features are present on ultrasound. Sometimes there is a small effusion. Some authors suggest that neovascular change is present on power Doppler in the rotator interval.