Shoulder osteoarthritis is a chronic disease in which joint cartilage and adjacent bone tissues degenerate, wear down, and break.If you treat this disease carelessly and do not start treatment on time, the consequences can be quite disastrous, including loss of motor function of the hand.
Why does shoulder joint disease develop?
The driving force for the development of shoulder arthritis is inflammation in the joint.It can appear for many reasons:
- Injury.Shoulder arthritis can develop as a result of a previous shoulder injury or as a result of small, ongoing microtrauma to the shoulder, typically in athletes.
- Vascular disease.With vascular diseases, blood circulation is often impaired, leading to insufficient blood supply to the joints.As a result, joint tissues undergo degenerative changes, i.e. joint disease develops.
- Excessive load.This is often associated with the patient's work activity (porter, construction worker).
- Hormonal disruption or autoimmunity.Usually they significantly affect joint tissues, having a destructive effect on them.These are diseases such as psoriasis, gout,...
- Hereditary.It has been shown that children of parents with shoulder osteoarthritis are more susceptible to joint defects than other children.This also includes people born with any joint defects.Both found the normal load placed on their hands to be excessive and therefore cartilage wear occurred much faster.
- Failures in metabolism and the endocrine system.As a result, salt begins to accumulate in the joints, and the cartilage tissues no longer receive proper nutrition (phosphorus, calcium, etc.) and begin to deteriorate.
- Joint disease.Prerequisites for the development of joint diseases can be joint pathologies such as arthritis, osteonecrosis, synovitis, etc.
- Year old.Elderly people (50 years and older) are especially at risk because joint tissues wear down with age, which leads to the development of pathology.
Signs of shoulder arthritis
Arthritis is characterized by long-term development, sometimes not manifesting itself in any form in the early stages.Therefore, you should be very alert to even the smallest symptoms.Shoulder arthritis is often manifested by:
- Pain is considered the main symptom of the disease.Pain often makes patients uncomfortable in the morning.Pain syndrome is also more likely to occur when the weather changes suddenly.If you subject your sore shoulder to any load, such as lifting a heavy object, the pain will remind you of itself.The patient feels pain even when touching the shoulder.With the development of shoulder arthritis, pain begins to occur even in a quiet position.It is necessary to take into account this fact - with shoulder arthritis, pain can occur not only in the affected joint, but can also be localized in the arm, elbow or back.
- Movement dysfunction.Because of the pain, it becomes difficult for the patient to perform seemingly simple tasks on their own, such as combing their hair.By the way, this action is one of the test movements for diagnosing joint diseases.Rotating movements and trying to move the arm back are also difficult.If treatment is not started on time, gradually the shoulder joint and, accordingly, the arm will stop moving completely and contractures will develop.
- Pain and creaking in the joints.It often occurs due to salt deposition in diseased joints (osteoporosis).Initially, a weak rustling sound appears in the diseased joint;As the disease progresses, it turns into distinct crunching sounds, which can be heard even at a distance from the patient.
- Swelling, increased general temperature and redness at the site of the affected joint.These signs confirm the presence of inflammation in the diseased joint.
- Joint stiffness.This symptom appears when the disease has progressed severely because the bone has grown to cover the joint.
You should not delay going to the doctor if you suddenly feel pain in your shoulder, especially after a bruise or dislocation.Indeed, at later stages, arthritis is practically impossible to treat.Please note that some patients may have no signs of the disease at all.
Symptoms of shoulder osteoarthritis depend on the stage of the disease:
- The first degree of shoulder arthritis is characterized by morning and evening pain.The patient needs to “grow” the joint before it begins to move without stiffness.A sharp movement of the shoulder or arm is accompanied by a slight but not painful crunching sound.When resting, there is no pain.X-ray examination showed no significant changes in the joint.
- Shoulder arthritis in the second stage is accompanied by more intense pain and a clear crunching sound.The possible range of motion of the hand is reduced but the joint can still move.The joint has begun to collapse and deform.
- The third level is the severe, progressive stage of the disease.The patient can only gently shake his hand;Sharp pain torments them continuously.The joint itself becomes very inflamed and deformed.There is even partial atrophy of the muscles around the shoulder joint.The joint can only be cured with surgery.Osteoarthritis rarely progresses to this stage.It occurs only in patients who do not take care of the affected joint and subject it to unbearable overload.
- Stage four – complete destruction of the joint and fusion of the bones.Even strong painkillers do not relieve the pain syndrome.This stage mainly occurs in elderly patients.
Treatment of shoulder arthritis
Treatment of shoulder joint disease with drugs is first of all aimed at destroying the source of the inflammatory process and pain.Typically, your doctor will prescribe NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).First of all, they suppress inflammation and relieve pain.
Usually, when there is severe inflammation, doctors have to resort to corticosteroids.These are anti-inflammatory drugs used to block joints.This procedure is an injection given into the joint.This method is a non-invasive treatment method, meaning the skin and mucous membranes are not damaged.As a rule, it involves the use of ointments, gels, creams, etc.
Chondroprotectors are also prescribed for shoulder arthritis - drugs that can restore damaged cartilage, based on hyaluronic acid, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.
In addition to drug treatment, exercise therapy, hospital treatment, massage, and physical therapy are also used.The latter refers to ultrasound treatment procedures, laser therapy, mud therapy, cryotherapy and magnetic therapy.Recently, the method of treating joint diseases with leeches (hirudotherapy) is quite popular due to its effectiveness.Therapeutic exercises that do not overload the joints will stimulate the muscles to the necessary level, thanks to which the joints are developed and restored.
In addition, the patient is prescribed a therapeutic diet based on avoiding too spicy and salty foods.Doctors advise eating more foods containing collagen: turkey, seafood, green vegetables and salmon.
In cases where shoulder arthritis leads to complete destruction of the joint cartilage, a surgery called arthroscopy is performed, in which a ceramic, plastic, or metal prosthesis is implanted at the site of the affected joint.
Traditional medicine has also shown effectiveness in combating shoulder joint disease.
Folk remedies are often effective as additional pain relievers.Remember, they cannot restore a shoulder joint affected by arthritis.This requires medical treatment under the guidance of a doctor.
compressed
Boil oatmeal (30 g) in two cups of water for about 10 minutes.Soak a piece of gauze folded in several layers with the resulting solution and apply it to the sore spot for at least half an hour.
Applying cabbage juice has been proven to be a good pain reliever.It is usually done every evening, left on the painful joint until morning.
You can simply apply cabbage leaves smeared with honey on the affected joint at night.
rubbing
Soak elecampane roots (50 g) with vodka (125 ml) for several weeks.The mixture should be rubbed on sore joints.
Leave the angelica root (15 g) for half an hour, pour boiling water over it.The filtered solution must be rubbed into the affected area 3-5 times a day.
herbal bath
You can add various herbal decoctions and infusions to a bath filled with water.Knowledgeable people note the special effects of baths with decoctions of mustard, hay bushes, mint and burdock.Such a bath should be taken before thoroughly steaming the body, then, after massaging the joints, the patient needs to lie down and cover with a warm blanket so that the body retains heat longer.
Ointment
To regular Vaseline you need to add 15 g of sweet clover, hops and St. John's wort.John's wort.The resulting mixture should be regularly rubbed into the joint area.