Percutaneous treatments are useful in two, frequent, painful condition
s involving the shoulder. In frozen shoulder syndrome, distention arth
rography with intra-articular injection of steroid is used to provide
pain relief and to improve joint motion. In rotator cuff tendon calici
fications, needle aspiration of calcific deposits is used to treat pai
n. Surgery should be restricted to failures of needle aspiration. The
techniques of these procedures are described and their results are rep
orted.