Shoulder osteoarthritis is a fairly common problem that many patients encounter, especially in the elderly.Due to the development of shoulder osteoarthritis, the cartilaginous tissue of the head of the humerus and the joint cavity of the shoulder blade that articulates with it are affected.Damage and weakening of cartilage tissue leads to changes and deformation of bone structure.
Causes of shoulder arthritis
The most common cause of shoulder osteoarthritis is increased load on the shoulder joint and previous injuries: fractures in the joint, dislocations, bruises.The development of arthritis can be promoted by vascular diseases and lack of physical activity, which disrupt the normal nutrition of the joints.
Sometimes shoulder arthritis develops as a result of accompanying diseases: psoriasis, gout, infectious arthritis and others.
Symptoms of shoulder arthritis
The development of shoulder arthritis can take a long time.In the early stages, the disease often has no obvious symptoms.But at a certain point, the first symptoms still appear.As a rule, they occur after increased load on the joints or hypothermia.
The main symptom is increased pain when moving the shoulder joint.The feeling of discomfort may spread throughout the arm.When making movements in the joints, people often hear clicking or crunching sounds.
At first, you only feel pain when moving, but in the later stages of joint disease, it causes you discomfort even when resting.During the exacerbation of the disease and in the later stages of joint disease, the patient is also unable to freely rotate and extend the arm.The final stage of shoulder osteoarthritis leads to the patient's disability: the joint is largely deformed and almost immobile.A person must keep his hands in a forced position, which causes the least pain for the person.However, this stage rarely occurs.
Treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis
Treatment of shoulder arthritis can be done conservatively or surgically.
Conservative treatment involves the appointment of chondroprotectors, which help restore cartilage tissue and prevent its destruction.During an exacerbation, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.Corticosteroids, administered as injections into the affected area, help fight severe inflammation.For arthritis of the shoulder joint, ointments and gels are also often used.
Special orthotics are also used to immobilize the shoulder joint and create a gentle regimen.If you continue to load the shoulder muscles, it is impossible to prevent the development of arthritis in the early stages.Important aspects of treatment are physiotherapy, massage and physiotherapy.
Surgical treatment of shoulder arthritis is performed infrequently due to the low incidence of advanced forms of the disease.It involves replacing the shoulder joint and adjacent scapula joint with a prosthesis.