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

Osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint is accompanied by swelling, severe pain in the shoulder area, limited range of motion. 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 is quite complex and mobile in structure, providing the most complete range of motion for the human body. The shoulder joint capsule can be stretched very strongly so that the person can raise the hand vertically and make rotational movements. This activity weakens the ligaments, and as a result of the sharp bending of the tendons, light ischemia often occurs in them.

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

The disease, which is primarily manifested by degeneration of the tissues of the shoulder joint, is called osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint or osteoarthritis of the shoulder. Shoulder biomechanics is built 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, restriction of movement, pain.

Osteoarthritis (or osteoarthritis) is primarily a disease of a degenerative nature, not inflammatory. It is associated with ischemic processes in surrounding tissues for a variety of reasons.

As a result, the nutrition of the joint is disrupted, due to which the thin and elastic layer of hyaline cartilage, which covers the bone head, is thinned. As it becomes less elastic and thinner, the hyaline cartilage complicates normal movement, causing narrowing of the joint space.

This phenomenon causes the body to act and a bone rash called osteophytes develops on the edges of the joint. It is osteophytes that damage muscles and ligaments with their sharp edges, leading to chronic dull inflammation.

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

Without movement, shoulder pain begins with the accumulation of salts in the tissues surrounding the joint and a deterioration in the nutrition of the joint tissues. Over time, this is fraught with the emergence of joint contractures - limited mobility, or complete loss of shoulder mobility and disability of the patient.

Causes of shoulder osteoarthritis

The only cause of shoulder arthrosis is deep ischemia, i. e. a sharp or gradual deterioration of the blood supply to certain areas of the tissues and a reduction in joint nutrition. But this reason is caused by factors that may be in the anamnesis separately or simultaneously:

• Shoulder injury. These can be both obvious injuries caused by a car accident or a fall, as well as hidden tears in the muscles and ligaments received during sports training or hard work. Any damage to the joint always has the ability to remind itself, since the damaged areas are not fully restored and the conduction in them is invariably violated. It can take several years or decades for the body to successfully cope with this before aging.
• Age-related changes in the body.
• Infectious attacks causing arthritis.
• Metabolic and hormonal disorders that are also often associated with age.
• Hereditary or genetic predisposition.

Stages and symptoms of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint

The disease goes through several stages in its development. Since osteoarthritis is a chronic disease that progresses quite slowly, the first stage, during which it is possible to most effectively deal with joint deformity, is neglected by most patients.

1. The symptoms of the first stage. For the first time, a patient may experience some discomfort when moving the hand already thinning the hyaline cartilage. Sharp vibration or trick is not accompanied by pain, it is caused by the fact that there are no nerve endings in the cartilage and its destruction does not cause pain. But sometimes in the evening or at the end of a workout, shoulder pain starts to bother you. Often they do not pay attention to it, attributing it to muscle pain or neuralgia. And the disease started and almost asymptomatic, and if immediate measures are not taken, then it moves to the second stage.

2. Second stage symptoms. If the patient feels pain when moving the hand, accompanied by a clearly audible click, then it means that osteophytes have formed in the joint. From this point on, the sharp edges of the bone growth on the shoulder are constantly damaged, causing inflammation of the surrounding tissues. This is manifested by morning tension that disappears only after joint development, or pain from normal physical activity or evening fatigue.

   Human well-being deteriorates because the chronic focus of inflammation in the body affects the general condition. At night, in wet weather, the off-season joint can be more painful.

   The patient sharply limits the volume and amplitude of arm movements, can not lift it more than ninety degrees, both in the forehead and in the lateral plane. This leads to muscle atrophy and significant deterioration of joint tissue nutrition.

3. Third stage symptoms. Usually, if the patient goes to the doctor in the third stage of the disease, then he is practically unable to move his hand. The hand does not move, does not lean to the side, the joint is swollen and widens. Muscle atrophy and pain syndrome are so severe that when you try to raise your hand, trembling occurs in the fingers. 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 moreover, 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 root 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. Doctors therefore insist on early diagnosis of the disease and start treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis when the joint tissue is only partially destroyed, there are no osteophytes and you can try to restore normal nutrition of the joint.

Conservative therapy

The treatment of osteoarthritis always has two goals: to eliminate the pain and, if possible, to restore the joint supply with the substances necessary for normal functioning.

Why the following measures have been taken:

• Nutrient intake in tissues depends on what the patient eats. Osteoarthritis diet should exclude salt and alcohol. Also undesirable are meat products and vegetables containing purine stems, which increase the uric acid content in the body. Steamed milk and vegetable dishes are recommended.
• A combination of glucosamine and chondroitin-containing medicines, as well as collagen, that nourish joint tissues. And daily use of regular gelatin in the form of jelly helps to enrich the menu with animal collagen.
• Topical application of various warming, anti-inflammatory and chondroitin-containing ointments and balms activates the blood circulation in the tissues surrounding the joint.
• If the pain syndrome is mild, then the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is not recommended. If hand movement is accompanied by severe pain, then nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may anesthetize and reduce inflammation. These medications can help relieve pain.
• If the swelling of the shoulder and the inflammatory process in it begins, then it has an excellent effect of compressing the ointment, applied at night or waiting for the massage.
• Therapeutic gymnastics is an indispensable component of successful treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis. But resetting the joint is not recommended as improperly distributed effort can lead to rapid destruction of the hyaline cartilage.

Therapeutic exercises for osteoarthritis of the shoulder and the rules of its implementation

Special exercises will help develop the joint, give it mobility. Gymnastics can be done independently at home. The basic rules for performing the exercises should be:

1. Regularity, ie it is necessary to perform exercises every day for at least 15 minutes;
2. Perform the exercises smoothly and without much effort. This is necessary in order not to further damage the joint structures;
3. Getting moral pleasure during physical activity that will help normalize the patient's emotional state.

Exercise therapy exercises in which hand movement does not cause pain are recommended. They are performed slowly, forcing ligaments and muscles to gradually tighten and stretch.

• Here are the simplest and most useful exercises for osteoarthritis of the shoulder:
• Sit on a chair, put your hands on your knees. Perform circular movements with the shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times backwards.
• Raise your straight hands up, lift your shoulders and shoulder blades behind them as high as possible. Pause for a few seconds, then lower yourself. Repeat 5-7 times.
• Straight arms with arms outstretched down. Bend the wrists to the wrists, and the elbows should bend, with the club head bring behind. Perform circular movements with the shoulders: 5 times forward, then 5 times backwards.
• Raise your bent hands above your head, and one of your fingers should be on the elbows of the opposite hand. Gently move your hands back until you feel a stretch in the shoulder joint. Perform the exercise 5-7 times.
• Place the palms of both hands together on the back of the head, with the back of the hand facing down. Move your arms so that your wrists are between your shoulders and between your shoulders. Repeat the exercise 5-7 times.
• Place the left hand on the right elbow, moving the right hand as far as possible on the left shoulder until you feel a stretch in the shoulder joint. Exercise 5-7 times. Change hands and repeat the exercise for the other hand.

Effectively recognized in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint: 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 is herbal medicine, which allows you to use dry herbs and herbal extracts for compresses, ointments and home remedies to normalize metabolism and restore pain to restore joint nutrition. .

1. Ointment. Take 10 grams of dry hop leaves, sweet clover, St. John's wort. Press and grind the herbs well, add the Vaseline and mix all the ingredients well. Apply the prepared ointment on the shoulder area. This will help reduce pain and inflammation in the joint.
2. Friction. Pour one part of the crushed rosemary flowers into five parts vodka or alcohol. You should then insist on keeping the drug in a warm dark place for 24 hours. The tincture is used to rub externally damaged joints.

3. Decoction. Pour two cups of water over the corn stigma (2 tablespoons), boil for 10 minutes, strain and drink one tablespoon four times a day.
4. To compress. For compression you need to boil 30 grams of dry oatmeal in two cups of water. Apply the prepared mass on the sore shoulder for 30 minutes.

Alternative treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis

• Manual techniques - massage, manual therapy sessions, osteopathy - allow you to remove muscle blocks, tension and spasms, free the blood vessels and nerves leading to the joint.
• Physiotherapy, in particular, shock wave therapy, balneotherapy, mud therapy and other methods are not recommended during exacerbations, ie when there is an active inflammatory process in the joint.
• Remission is an excellent reason for a spa treatment course, followed by constant improvement.

Surgical treatment of shoulder osteoarthritis

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

Most often, prosthetics are done, ie the damaged joint is replaced with an endoprosthesis. If possible, then partial arthroplasty is done, changing only part of the shoulder joint.

Surgery is resorted to in rare cases, since any surgical intervention, especially 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 human motor activity is impaired and a rather severe pain syndrome is observed.

Timely treatment of this disease at the first minor symptoms is important to prevent further destruction of the joint.

The patient should remember that successful treatment of osteoarthritis depends more on his efforts, activity, and not on medication.