Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is accompanied by swelling, severe pain in the shoulder, limited freedom of movement. The causes and symptoms of the disease, existing treatment methods and ways to help at home will be discussed later in the article.
What is Shoulder Arthritis
The shoulder joint has a rather complex structure and the most mobile of all, providing the human body with the fullest range of motion. The shoulder joint capsule is able to stretch very strongly, so that a person can lift their arm vertically and make rotational movements with it. This activity weakens the ligaments, and due to the strong flexion of the tendons, there is often a slight ischemia in them.
It is the lack of nutrition of the joint tissue that carries the main threat of its destruction and gives impetus to the development of pathology.
The disease, which is mainly expressed in the degeneration of the tissues of the shoulder joint, is called arthrosis of the shoulder joint or arthrosis of the shoulder. The biomechanics of the shoulder is based on the flawless work of all components: normal nerve conduction, good blood supply, flawless anatomical structure. Violation of any of these conditions invariably leads to the fact that the internal tissues begin to deform, causing discomfort, limitation of movement, pain.
Arthrosis (or arthrosis) is, first of all, a disease not of an inflammatory nature, but of a degenerative nature. It is associated with ischemic processes in the surrounding tissues caused by various reasons.
As a result, the nutrition of the joint is disturbed, which is why the thin and elastic layer of hyaline cartilage covering the head of the bone becomes thinner. By becoming less elastic and thinner, hyaline cartilage makes normal movement difficult, causing the joint space to narrow.
This causes the body to act and bony growths called osteophytes form around the edges of the joint. It is the osteophytes that damage the muscles and ligaments with their sharp edges, causing slow chronic inflammation.
The main danger of osteoarthritis lies in the fact that a slight limitation of the mobility of the hand invariably leads to a decrease in the range of motion.
Without moving, the shoulder begins to suffer from the accumulation of salts in the tissues surrounding the joint and from the deterioration of nutrition of the joint tissues. Over time, this is fraught with the formation of joint contractures, limiting the possibility of movement or a complete loss of shoulder mobility and disability of the patient.
Causes of Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder
The only cause of shoulder osteoarthritis is deep ischemia, that is, an acute or gradual deterioration of the blood supply to certain areas of the tissues and the depletion of joint nutrition. But this reason is caused by factors that may be present in the anamnesis individually or simultaneously:
- Shoulder injury. They can be both obvious injuries resulting from a car accident or fall, and hidden tears of muscles and ligaments received in the process of sports training or hard work. Any joint injury always has the ability to remember itself, since the affected areas are not restored to their full size, and the conduction in them is invariably disturbed. For several years or decades, the body can cope successfully until aging begins.
- Age-related changes in the body.
- Infectious attacks causing arthritis.
- Metabolic and hormonal disorders, often also associated with age.
- Hereditary or genetic predisposition.
Stages and symptoms of arthrosis of the shoulder joint
The disease in its development goes through several stages. Since osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that progresses rather slowly, the first stage, during which joint deformity can be dealt with most effectively, is ignored by most patients.
- Symptoms of the first stage. For the first time, the patient may experience some discomfort when moving the hand already with thinning of the hyaline cartilage. A strong swing or jerk is not accompanied by pain, this is due to the fact that there are no nerve endings in the cartilage, and its destruction does not lead to pain. But sometimes by the evening or at the end of the workout, the shoulder pain starts to bother. They often don't pay attention to this, attributing it to muscle pain or neuralgia. And the disease began, and almost asymptomatically, and if immediate measures are not taken, it goes to the second stage.
- Symptoms of the second stage. If the patient feels pain when he moves his hand, accompanied by a clearly audible click, it means that osteophytes have formed in the joint. From this moment on, the shoulder is constantly injured by the sharp edges of the bone growths, which provoke inflammation of the surrounding tissues. This is expressed by morning stiffness, which disappears only after the development of the joint, or by pain with habitual physical exertion or evening fatigue.
A person's well-being worsens, as a chronic focus of inflammation in the body affects the general condition. At night, in rainy weather, in the off-season, the joint can hurt more intensely.
The patient clearly limits the volume and amplitude of the movements of the arm, he cannot raise it more than ninety degrees, both in the frontal and lateral planes. This leads to muscle atrophy and a significant deterioration in the nutrition of the joint tissue.
- Symptoms of the third stage. Usually, if a patient comes to the doctor in the third stage of the disease, he is practically unable to move his hand. The hand does not rise, does not retract to the side, the joint swells and widens. Muscle atrophy and pain syndrome are so severe that when you try to raise your hand, your fingers tremble. In most cases, the presence of contractures in the shoulder joint, the "frozen shoulder" syndrome, is noted.
Ways to treat osteoarthritis of the shoulder
Indeed, it is impossible to cure osteoarthritis, and even more so, it is impossible to do it at home. This disease is so dependent on many internal and external factors that it is almost never the main cause.
But the good news for patients in the first and second stages of the disease is that the development of osteoarthritis can be stopped. That is why doctors insist on early diagnosis of the disease and starting treatment for osteoarthritis of the shoulder, when the joint tissue is only partially destroyed, there are no osteophytes, and you can try to restore normal joint nutrition.
Conservative therapy
The treatment of osteoarthritis always has two objectives: the elimination of pain and, if possible, the restoration of the supply of the joint with the substances necessary for normal functioning.
- The intake of nutrients in the tissues depends on what the patient eats. The diet for osteoarthritis should exclude salt and alcohol. Meat and vegetable products containing purine bases, which increase the content of uric acid in the body, are also undesirable. Dairy-based dishes and steamed vegetables are recommended.
- The connection of medical preparations containing glucosamine and chondroitin, as well as collagen, which nourish the joint tissues. And the daily use of ordinary gelatin in the form of gelatin helps to enrich the menu with animal collagen.
- Local application of various warming, anti-inflammatory and chondroitin-containing ointments and balms activates the blood circulation of the tissues surrounding the joint.
- If the pain syndrome is mild, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is not recommended. If hand movements are accompanied by intense pain, NSAIDs can numb and reduce inflammation. These medications can help relieve pain.
- If the shoulder swells and an inflammatory process begins, a compress from the ointment, fixed at night or rubbing with gels has an excellent effect.
- Therapeutic gymnastics is an indispensable component for the successful treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis. But it is not recommended to overload the joint, as improperly distributed efforts can lead to the rapid destruction of hyaline cartilage.
Therapeutic exercises for shoulder osteoarthritis and the rules for its implementation
Special exercises will help develop the joint, giving it mobility. Gymnastics can be done independently at home. The main rules for doing exercises should be:
- regularity, that is, it is necessary to perform exercises every day for at least 15 minutes;
- perform exercises smoothly and without much effort. This is necessary in order not to further damage the joint structures;
- obtaining moral pleasure during physical activity, which will contribute to the normalization of the patient's emotional state.
Physical therapy exercises are recommended, in which hand movements do not cause pain. They are done slowly, forcing the ligaments and muscles to gradually warm up and stretch.
- We offer the simplest and most useful exercises for osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint:
- Sitting on a chair, put your hands on your knees. Make circular movements with your shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times back.
- Raise your straightened arms, pull your shoulders and shoulder blades behind them as high as possible. Hold for a few seconds, then turn down. Repeat 5-7 times.
- Arms straight with palms facing down apart. Bend the wrists to the wrists, the fingers should look up. Make circular movements with your shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times back.
- Raise your folded arms above your head, while the fingers of one should be on the elbows of the opposite hand. Gently move your arms back until you feel a stretch in the shoulder joint. Do the exercise 5-7 times.
- Place your palms together behind your head with the backs of your hands facing down. Move your arms so that your palms fall down your back to the area between your shoulder blades. Repeat the exercise 5-7 times.
- Place your left hand on your right elbow, move your right hand as far as possible over your left shoulder until you feel a stretch in the shoulder joint. Do the exercise 5-7 times. Switch hands and repeat the exercise for the other hand.
In the treatment of arthrosis of the shoulder joint the following are recognized as effective: manual therapy, physiotherapy and spa treatments. The use of traditional medicine methods is also considered justified.
Folk remedies and home help
The main folk remedy for the treatment of arthrosis of the shoulder joint is herbal medicine, which allows the use of dry herbs and herbal decoctions for compresses, the preparation of ointments and rubbing at home to normalize metabolism and restore joint nutrition in order to reduce pain.
- Ointment. Take 10 grams of dry hop leaves, sweet clover, St. John's wort. Chop the aromatic herbs well and chop them together, add the vaseline and mix all the ingredients well. Apply the finished ointment to the shoulder area. This will help reduce pain and inflammation in the joint.
- Rubbing. Pour five parts of vodka or alcohol with one part of the crushed marsh rosemary flowers. Then you need to insist the drug in a dark and warm place for 24 hours. The tincture is used externally to rub the affected joints.
- Decoction. Corn stigmas (2 tablespoons) pour two glasses of water, boil for 10 minutes, strain and drink one tablespoon four times a day.
- Compress. For a compress, you need to prepare 30 grams of dry oatmeal in two glasses of water. Apply the prepared mass on the sore shoulder for 30 minutes.
Alternative treatment for osteoarthritis of the shoulder
- Manual techniques - massage, manual therapy sessions, osteopathy - allow you to remove muscle blocks, tensions and spasms, freeing the blood vessels and nerves that lead to the joint.
- Physiotherapy, especially shock wave therapy, balneotherapy, mud therapy and other methods are not recommended during an exacerbation, that is, when an active inflammatory process occurs in the joint.
- Remission is a very good reason for a course of spa treatments, after which there is a lasting improvement.
Surgical treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis
With a pronounced pain syndrome that prevents the patient from leading a normal life, the doctor may recommend surgery.
Most often, prostheses are performed, that is, the destroyed joint is replaced with an endoprosthesis. If possible, partial arthroplasty is performed, modifying only part of the shoulder joint.
In rare cases, surgery is used, as any surgery, especially associated with the installation of an intra-articular prosthesis, can lead to complications and a long recovery period.
Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is an insidious and dangerous disease in which the motor activity of a person is disturbed and a fairly strong pain syndrome is noted.
It is important to treat this disease in a timely manner at the first minor symptoms, preventing further destruction of the joint.
The patient must remember that the success of osteoarthritis treatment depends more on his efforts, activity and not drugs.