Frozen Shoulder and Hormone Replacement Therapy

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in addition to standard treatment on frozen shoulder symptoms in women with age-related changes to their menstrual cycle. Frozen shoulder refers to the condition a doctor diagnosed the participant with regarding shoulder pain, stiffness, and progressive loss of range of motion. Age-related menstrual cycle changes, known as perimenopause and/or menopause, refers to a change or stoppage of monthly menstrual cycles. Other symptoms participants may be experiencing include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, or night sweats. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) refers to medicine with female hormones in it. For this study, HRT will be in the form of a patch that goes on the skin and a daily oral pill. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either HRT plus standard care, or only standard care. Follow-up tests will be completed at 6 months of treatment to assess participant progress.

Timeline

Start

2026-01-15

Primary completion

2026-12

Completion

2026-12

Publications

• Background Klair JS, Yang JD, Abdelmalek MF, Guy CD, Gill RM, Yates K, Unalp-Arida A, Lavine JE, Clark JM, Diehl AM, Suzuki A; Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network. A longer duration of estrogen deficiency increases fibrosis risk among postmenopausal women with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology. 2016 Jul;64(1):85-91. doi: 10.1002/hep.28514. Epub 2016 Apr 5.
• Background Hamed-Hamed D, Rodriguez-Perez C, Pruimboom L, Navarro-Ledesma S. Influence of the metabolic and inflammatory profile in patients with frozen shoulder - systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2025 May 15;26(1):475. doi: 10.1186/s12891-025-08706-9.
• Background Kraal T, Lubbers J, van den Bekerom MPJ, Alessie J, van Kooyk Y, Eygendaal D, Koorevaar RCT. The puzzling pathophysiology of frozen shoulders - a scoping review. J Exp Orthop. 2020 Nov 18;7(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s40634-020-00307-w.
• Background Cogan CJ, Cevallos N, Freshman RD, Lansdown D, Feeley BT, Zhang AL. Evaluating Utilization Trends in Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis of a Large Database. Orthop J Sports Med. 2022 Jan 25;10(1):23259671211069577. doi: 10.1177/23259671211069577. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Drugs

Indications