Nagging shoulder pain and stiffness, a creaking or clicking sound with movement, night pain””these symptoms of shoulder arthritis should not be ignored. Why not just tough it out? Because patients who promptly care for inflammation of this joint have better outcomes, even if a future shoulder replacement is necessary.
Arthritic Conditions
- Osteoarthritis is the most common type of shoulder arthritis, resulting from every day wear and tear
- Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease which also causes shoulder arthritis.
- Post-traumatic arthritis or avascular necrosis is initiated by injury to the shoulder
- Inflammatory arthritis, such as gout
- Septic arthritis caused be infection
- Capsulorrhaphy arthropathy caused by past surgical techniques to “tighten” the shoulder
- Rotator cuff tear arthropathy caused by wear and tear damage to the rotator cuff
Though shoulder arthritis is common among active people 40 to 70 years of age, weight lifters seem to wear out their joints and damage cartilage to a greater degree than other athletes.
Early Care
After determining your specific type of arthritis, your doctor will advise changing some of your overhead activities. In many instances, continuing to play tennis or swim or weight lift may not be the best option, though some movement is important to keep the joint moving and stimulating the cartilage.
You must not stop moving your shoulder altogether, because the stiffer the shoulder is at the beginning, the harder it is to get motion back in the end.
Anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen is useful, but if more relief is necessary, you could be given prescription-strength medicines. If you continue to experience pain, you will be evaluated further and may need a cortisone injection to treat inflammation.
Replacement Options and Outcome
For some, joint damage and pain are sufficient enough to consider a total shoulder replacement, which involves removing the ball and socket and replacing it with a metal ball and a plastic socket. Most patients will regain most of their function, and their pain will be relieved after this procedure.
Arthritic patients without a rotator cuff may benefit from a reverse shoulder replacement. With this technique, doctors actually take the ball and put it on the socket side, then they take the socket and put it on the ball side. These patients should have improved function of the shoulder but will not necessarily have a full range of motion. Both procedures involve a short hospital stay and post-operative physical therapy. Most patients are functioning well after three months.
