Deformative arthropathy of the shoulder joint is a common pathology, especially in elderly patients. The disease is chronic and develops rapidly. It is equally often diagnosed in patients of both sexes. Due to degenerative disorders, damage is observed not only to the cartilage tissue of the joint, but also to the bone tissue. The causes of the problem are microtraumatic injuries to the shoulder joint and inflammatory processes that develop in it. The cartilage tissue gradually becomes thinner, microcracks appear on it, in which salt deposits accumulate. Then, destructive processes gradually affect the bones, which become denser, grow and finally change their anatomical shape. The disease progresses for a long time, without causing any discomfort to a person in the initial stages of the disease. In fact, therein lies its danger. Let's dwell in more detail on the causes, symptoms, as well as how and with what to treat deforming arthropathy.
Why does pathology appear?
Among the causes of arthropathy of the shoulder joint, experts mention the following conditions and factors.
Traumatic injuries
Shoulder injuries include intra-articular fractures, dislocations and contusions. Fractures are characterized by the fact that the fracture line is in the cavity of the joint. In addition to the bone, it also affects the cartilage, causing additional injuries: the ligaments are torn, the capsule is damaged.
Shoulder dislocation is one of the most common injuries, often leading to complications, joint deformity and joint growth. As a result, the joint can completely lose mobility.
Dislocations of the right shoulder are more often observed in right-handers and of the left in left-handers.
Bruises occur as a result of a strong impact, for example due to an accident, fall or sports. Due to a bruise, the bones are not displaced, the cartilage tissue is not destroyed, but its normal nutrition is disturbed, which can also lead to post-traumatic arthropathy.
Increased load
Excessive load on the shoulder joint is observed in certain groups of people:
- Professional athletes: volleyball players, tennis players, track and field athletes.
- Builders, plasterers, loaders.
- Dachnikov.
Everyone has to do the same type of motion with their raised arm for a long time. As a result, they face microcracks and injuries, sprained ligaments, overstrained muscles, and the function of blood vessels is disturbed. The joint is deprived of nutrients and deformed.
If a person does not monitor the load and does not take preventive measures, then glenohumeral arthropathy can occur.
Pathologies of the joints
Certain joint pathologies can cause the development of deforming arthropathy.
- hymenitis. Its cause is an infection that causes intense formation of intra-articular fluid. Due to the accumulation of fluid, the joint swells and starts to hurt. Most often this problem is observed in connection with a shoulder injury. If arthritis is not treated, there is a high chance of complications. The disease is treated with therapeutic agents. Pain is relieved by NSAIDs. In addition, the patient will undergo a puncture to drain the fluid that has accumulated inside the joint. The shoulder is then fixed in a stationary position. Arthritis of an infectious nature is treated with antibiotics. In the most difficult cases, surgical treatment is performed.
- Arthritis of the shoulder joint of various origins. Its signs: shoulder swelling and severe joint pain.
- Bone necrosis also causes arthropathy of the shoulder joint. Triggered by injury or genetics, it is characterized by the fact that bone cells begin to die. Medicine offers therapeutic or surgical correction of the condition, depending on the stage of the disease and the individual characteristics of the organism. Chondroprotectants restore bone tissue and NSAIDs help to deal with pain. The use of medication is complemented by physiotherapy, massage and exercise.
Heredity, relatives, acquired pathologies
Various abnormalities in the structure of the shoulder (congenital or acquired) almost always deform it. The consequence of muscular dystrophy is the insufficient nutrition of the joint tissues and then shoulder arthropathy.
If a person has a lack of collagen, this will also cause pathology to develop.
The probability of developing shoulder arthropathy is much higher in those people whose relatives had similar problems, including coxarthrosis, gonoarthrosis, because the underdevelopment of cartilage tissue is hereditary.
Diseases of blood vessels
The condition under which the probability of arthrosis of the shoulder joint increases is considered to be various disorders in the functioning of blood vessels.
- Physical inactivity also significantly increases the likelihood of developing pathology. It is caused by insufficient physical activity. The disease is characterized by apathy, drowsiness, decreased appetite and insomnia. One of the most common complications of physical inactivity is cardiovascular disease, such as atherosclerosis. The disease is treated conservatively, it is also necessary to follow a diet and exercise.
- Neutralizing endarteritis. The pathology occurs due to impaired blood circulation, which results in a lack of oxygen supply to the tissues of the vessel. So their performance is limited and then they die.
- Poor nutrition and insufficient physical activity are conditions for obesity and metabolic disorder, which leads to difficult blood circulation in the tissues of the joints. The result of the process is the development of joints.
- Varicose veins, in which the blood flow in the vessels slows down, is also one of the conditions that cause degenerative changes in the joints.
Hormonal imbalances and weakened immunity
Disturbed hormone levels and reduced immunity can become a factor that causes destructive tendencies in joint tissues.
- The changes that occur in a woman's body due to menopause are characterized by metabolic disorders. The lack of calcium in the bones during this period is a result of the decrease in estrogen levels in the female body. The consequence of these processes is possible arthropathy of the joints.
- Psoriasis is a chronic non-infectious pathology caused by various reasons (stress, reduced immunity, metabolic disorder, etc. ). The disease is systemic, therefore, under certain conditions, not only the skin can be affected, but also internal organs, bones and joints.
- Men often suffer from arthritis due to gout. It occurs due to the excessive accumulation of uric acid in the form of small crystals in the joints. Signs of pathology include joint swelling and pain. Externally, their manifestation can be observed at the time of paroxysmal exacerbation of gout. Most of the time this happens at night. The shoulder feels warm and the skin reddens. In an advanced state, gout can become a causative factor for the development of pathology. To avoid complications, gout must be treated with medication, not forgetting diet and exercise therapy.
- Reduced immunity can be the cause of arthropathy due to the exacerbation of inflammatory processes in the joint cavities.
Disorder of metabolism
The lack of intake of various vitamins and trace elements in the body (especially calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D) often causes a lack of nutrition of the intra-articular fluid, cartilage and bone tissue of the joint, which in turn causes degenerative dystrophic changes in them.
Due to diabetes, the blood vessels become thinner, blood flow through them decreases, and the peri-articular tissues do not receive enough nutrients. All this leads to arthritis.
Age-related changes
With age, bones and cartilage tissue become thinner and weaker. The likelihood of developing shoulder arthrosis after the age of 50 increases sharply.
Most often, shoulder arthropathy is seen due to exposure to a complex of the listed conditions.
Symptoms
Deformative arthropathy of the shoulder joint is characterized as a disease that develops gradually over a long period of time. Initially it shows practically nothing, however, in later stages of development the following symptoms are observed.
- Shoulder pain. Its character, most often aching, pulling, bothers a person in the morning, after a night's rest. It can happen before the weather changes. If physical activity is necessary on the affected shoulder, the pain becomes intense and severe. As the condition worsens, the pain syndrome manifests itself even at rest. Wearing a spell helps solve the problem.
- Impaired motor activity of the affected arm occurs due to severe pain. Exacerbation often occurs due to hypothermia or sprained ligaments. The patient cannot raise his arm or make the usual movements. He feels excruciating pain when he makes circular movements at the shoulder or tries to move his arm behind his back. If treatment is not started in time, complete immobilization of the upper limbs may occur.
- Tingling and creaking in the joint is not very noticeable at first and may be barely noticeable. Later they become loud and can be heard not only by the patient, but also by the people around him.
- Inflammation in the joint is manifested by swelling, edema, local increase in skin temperature and redness.
- The feeling of stiffness of the joint is caused by growths of bone tissue - osteophytes, which manifests itself if the disease is advanced.
Development of the disease
The disease goes through three stages in its development. The symptoms in each stage are similar to each other, however, they differ significantly in intensity.
1st degree arthropathy
1st degree shoulder joint arthropathy is characterized by mild pain in the morning and evening. The patient "stretches" the joint with effort before making movements. A slight crease on the shoulder is possible if a person jerks his arm. At rest, no pain is felt.
Second degree
Arthritis of the shoulder joint of the 2nd degree is manifested by more intense pain, a cracking sound is clearly heard in the shoulder. The mobility of the hand is still preserved, but it is already noticeably reduced. The destructive process is already present, the tissues of the joint gradually become thinner and dystrophy is observed. Ligaments, cartilage and bones are affected. The use of a special orthopedic device - orthosis or bandage - helps to reduce the intensity of pain.
Arthropathy 3 degrees
The third degree of the disease is the most serious. Arthritis symptoms significantly alter a person's quality of life. The patient can only slightly turn his arm, constantly experiences sharp pain in the shoulder and joint deformation is observed. Muscles partially atrophy. The problem is solved by surgery. In its absence, complete immobility and disability are possible.
Treatment
It is completely impossible to cure degenerative joint disease. You can only slow its progression and affect the symptoms. Doctors offer two types of treatment for osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint: therapeutic and surgical.
Therapeutic treatment
As a therapeutic correction of the patient's condition, doctors recommend the use of the following groups of drugs.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The main goal at this stage of treatment is to relieve inflammation and pain. Medicines suppress inflammatory processes and relieve pain. It is important to remember that NSAIDs are used for a limited time. They are prescribed both in the form of tablets and injections.
- Treatment of shoulder joint arthropathy involves the use of corticosteroids. They help relieve inflammation, thus stopping the development of pathology.
- Chondroprotectors for arthropathy are prescribed in the non-acute stage to restore damaged cartilage and bone tissue. These drugs are based on various active substances: glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid. They help stop the destruction of cartilage tissue and restore it. But the effectiveness of the use of chondroprotectors can be expected only in the initial stages of the disease, because for their effect, the main condition is necessary - the cartilage tissue must remain in the affected joint. Otherwise, these drugs will not help. All these drugs are prescribed by a doctor. You can expect positive results from their use no earlier than six months of use.
- External agents (ointments, gels, creams) are also widely used in the treatment of arthropathy.
- Analgesics also relieve pain and are used inconsistently.
Surgery
The operation is carried out in the third degree of development of the pathology. It consists of prosthetic replacement of the shoulder and scapula. Surgical treatment has contraindications, most often the advanced age of the patient.
The decision on how to treat shoulder arthropathy will be made by an orthopedic or traumatologist.
Additional conservative shoulder treatment methods include exercise, massage, and traditional medicine. A prerequisite for these methods is that they cannot be used during a peak period.
With shoulder arthropathy, physical therapy can significantly relieve the patient's condition. In the set of exercises, you need to choose simple movements (circular movements, lifting, bending-extending the arm). Gymnastics is carried out at a calm pace, without overloading.
Self-healing
For home treatment, you can use folk recipes. But their use must be agreed with the attending physician.
- Rubbing the sore joint helps a lot with arthritis. The rub is prepared from 50 g of elecampane root and 125 ml of vodka. The tincture is left for two weeks in a dark place and then used to rub the shoulder before going to bed.
- Oatmeal compresses are easy to make yourself. Take 30 g of flakes per half liter of water and boil for 8-10 minutes. The decoction is moistened with gauze folded several times, and then applied to the affected joint for half an hour.
- You can use cabbage leaves as a compress (at night). They handle pain well.
- Herbal baths are recommended for the treatment of osteoarthritis. For their preparation, mustard, mint and burdock are used.
Shoulder joint arthropathy, like any other joint disease, cannot be ignored. Its treatment must be approached comprehensively, follow the doctor's orders: take medicines in a disciplined way, perform a complex of exercise therapy. To prevent arthropathy, you should not overexert your joints, avoid excessive cooling and watch your diet.