Symptoms of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint, methods of treatment and help at home

Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is accompanied by swelling, severe pain in the shoulder, limited range of motion. The causes and symptoms of the disease, existing methods of treatment and ways to help at home will be discussed later in the article.

What is shoulder arthritis

The shoulder joint is quite complex in structure and the most mobile of all, providing the human body with the most complete range of motion. The articular capsule of the shoulder can be stretched very strongly, so that the person can raise the arm vertically and make rotational movements with it. This activity weakens the ligaments, and as a result of sharp bending of the tendons, mild ischemia often occurs in them.

It is the lack of nutrition of joint tissue that carries the main threat of its destruction and gives impetus to the development of pathology.

The disease, which is primarily expressed in the degeneration of the shoulder joint tissue, is called arthrosis of the shoulder joint or arthrosis of the shoulder. The biomechanics of the shoulder is built on the flawless work of all components: normal nerve conduction, good blood supply, flawless anatomical structure. Violation of any of these conditions always leads to the fact that the internal tissues begin to deform, causing discomfort, restriction of movement, pain.

Osteoarthritis (or osteoarthritis) is, above all, a disease not of an inflammatory but of a degenerative nature. It is associated with ischemic processes in surrounding tissues caused by a variety of reasons.

As a result, the nutrition of the joints is disturbed, due to which the thin and elastic layer of hyaline cartilage that covers the head of the bone becomes thinner. It becomes less elastic and thinner, hyaline cartilage hinders normal movement, causing narrowing of the joint space.

This phenomenon causes the body to function, and bone growths called osteophytes form around the edges of the joint. Osteophytes with their sharp edges injure muscles and ligaments, causing chronic sluggish inflammation.

The main danger of osteoarthritis lies in the fact that a slight restriction of hand mobility always leads to a reduction in range of motion.

Without movement, the shoulder begins to suffer from the accumulation of salt in the tissues around the joint and from the deterioration of the nutrition of the joint tissues. Over time, this is met by the creation of joint contractures - limiting the ability to move or complete loss of shoulder mobility and disability of the patient.

Causes of shoulder osteoarthritis

The only cause of arthrosis of the shoulder is deep ischemia, ie a sharp or gradual deterioration of the blood supply to certain areas of tissue and exhaustion of the joint's nutrition. But this reason is caused by factors that may be present in the anamnesis individually or simultaneously:

• Shoulder injury. These can be obvious injuries caused by a car accident or fall, as well as hidden ruptures of muscles and ligaments gained in the process of sports training or hard work. Any joint injury always has the ability to remind itself, since the affected areas do not recover in full size, and the conductivity in them is always impaired. For several years or decades, the body can successfully cope with this until the onset of aging.
• Age-related changes in the body.
• Infectious attacks that cause arthritis.
• Metabolic and hormonal disorders, also often associated with age.
• Hereditary or genetic predisposition.

Stages and symptoms of shoulder arthrosis

The disease goes through several stages in its development. Because osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that progresses rather slowly, the first stage, during which joint deformity can be resolved most effectively, is ignored by most patients.

1. Symptoms of the first phase. For the first time, the patient may feel discomfort when moving the arm with the thinning of hyaline cartilage. A sharp swing or jerk does not accompany the 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 evening or by the end of training, shoulder pain begins to torment. They often do not pay attention to it, attributing it to muscle pain or neuralgia. The disease has also started, and is almost asymptomatic, and if urgent measures are not taken, then it passes to the second phase.

2. Symptoms of the second phase. If the patient feels pain when moving the arm, followed by a clear audible click, it means that osteophytes have formed in the joint. From this point on, the shoulder is constantly injured by the sharp edges of the bony outgrowths, causing inflammation of the surrounding tissues. This is expressed by morning stiffness, which disappears only after the development of the joint, or pain with the usual physical exertion or evening fatigue.

   A person's well-being deteriorates because a chronic focus of inflammation in the body affects the general condition. At night, in wet weather, out of season, the joint can hurt more intensely.

   The patient severely limits the volume and amplitude of hand movements, he cannot raise it more than ninety degrees, both in the frontal and lateral planes. This leads to muscle atrophy and significant deterioration of joint tissue nutrition.

3. Symptoms of the third phase. Usually, if the patient comes to the doctor in the third stage of the disease, then he can practically not move his hand. The fist does not rise, it is not pulled to the side, the wrist swells and enlarges. Muscles atrophy, and the pain syndrome is so strong that when you try to raise your hand, your fingers tremble. In most cases, the presence of contractures in the shoulder joint, "frozen shoulder" syndrome, is noted.

Ways to treat shoulder osteoarthritis

In fact, it is impossible to cure osteoarthritis, and even more, 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 underlying 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. Therefore, doctors insist on early diagnosis of the disease and the beginning of treatment of 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 goals: relieving pain and, if possible, restoring the joint's supply of substances needed for normal functioning.

Why take the following measures:

• The intake of nutrients into the tissues depends on what the patient eats. Diet for osteoarthritis should exclude salt and alcohol. Meat and vegetable products that contain purine bases, which increase the content of uric acid in the body, are also undesirable. Steamed milk and vegetable dishes are recommended.
• Linking medical preparations containing glucosamine and chondroitin, as well as collagen, which nourish joint tissues. And the daily use of plain gelatin in the form of jelly helps to enrich the menu with animal collagen.
• Topical application of various heating, anti-inflammatory and chondroitin ointments and balms activates blood circulation in the tissues around the joint.
• If the pain syndrome is mild, then the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is not recommended. If arm movements are accompanied by intense pain, then NSAIDs can anesthetize and reduce inflammation. These medications can help relieve pain.
• If the shoulder swells and the inflammatory process begins in it, a fat ointment, applied at night or rubbing with gels, has an excellent effect.
• Therapeutic gymnastics is an indispensable component of successful treatment of shoulder arthrosis. But overloading the joints is not recommended, because improperly distributed efforts can lead to the rapid destruction of hyaline cartilage.

Therapeutic exercises for osteoarthritis of the shoulder and rules for their application

Special exercises will help the development of the joint, give it mobility. Gymnastics can be performed independently at home. The main rules for performing the exercises should be:

1. regularity, ie it is necessary to perform exercises every day for at least 15 minutes;
2. performing the exercises smoothly and without much effort. This is necessary so that the joint structures are not further damaged;
3. gaining moral satisfaction during physical activity, which will contribute to the normalization of the patient's emotional state.

Exercises in which arm movements do not cause pain are recommended. They are performed 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. Perform circular movements with the shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times backward.
• Raise your straight arms up, pull your shoulders and shoulders behind them as much as possible. Hold for a few seconds, then lower. Repeat 5-7 times.
• Straight arms with outstretched palms down. Bend your ankles, your toes should be facing up. Perform circular movements with the shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times backward.
• Raise the bent arms above the head, while the fingers of one should be on the elbows of the opposite hand. Slightly move your arms back until you feel a stretch in your shoulder joint. Perform the exercise 5-7 times.
• Place the palms of both hands together behind the head with the back of the fists facing down. Move your arms so that the palms fall along the back down to the area between the shoulder blades. Repeat the exercise 5-7 times.
• Place your left hand on your right elbow and move your right hand as far over your left shoulder as possible until you feel a stretch in your shoulder joint. Do the exercise 5-7 times. Change hands and repeat the exercise for the other hand.

In the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint, the following are recognized as effective: manual therapy, physiotherapy and spa treatment. The use of traditional medicine methods is also considered justified.

Folk remedies and help at home

The main folk remedy for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is an herbal remedy, which allows the use of dried herbs and herbal decoctions for dressings, preparation of ointments and rubbing at home to normalize metabolism and restore joint nutrition to reduce pain. .

1. Mast. Take 10 grams of dried hop leaves, sweet clover, St. John's wort. Chop the herbs well and grind, add Vaseline and mix all the ingredients well. Apply the finished ointment on the shoulder area. This will help reduce pain and inflammation in the joint.
2. Rubbing. Pour five parts of vodka or alcohol with one part of crushed marsh rosemary flowers. Then you need to insist the drug in a warm dark place for 24 hours. The tincture is used externally to rub the affected joints.

3. Decoction. Pour two cups of water over the corn stigmas (2 tablespoons), cook for 10 minutes, strain and drink one tablespoon four times a day.
4. Compress. For the dressing you need to boil 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, tension and cramps, freeing blood vessels and nerves leading to the joint.
• Physiotherapy, especially shock wave therapy, balneotherapy, mud therapy and other methods are not recommended during exacerbation, ie when an active inflammatory process is taking place in the joint.
• Remission is a great reason for a spa treatment course, after which there is a permanent improvement.

Surgical treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis

In severe pain syndrome that prevents the patient from leading a normal life, the doctor may recommend surgery.

Prosthetics are most often done, that is, the destroyed joint is replaced with an endoprosthesis. If possible, then partial arthroplasty is performed, changing only a part of the shoulder joint.

Surgery is resorted to in rare cases, as any surgical intervention, especially related to the implantation 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 a person's motor activity is disturbed and a rather strong pain syndrome is noticed.

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 successful treatment of osteoarthritis depends more on his efforts, activities, and not on medication.