Arthritis of the shoulder joint: causes, symptoms, treatment

Among all the inflammatory processes that occur in human joints, one of the leading roles is occupied by arthritis - primary and often acute symptoms of joint damage. Most often, the disease affects those groups of mobile joints that are most susceptible to overloading, or because of their anatomical structure, they are most vulnerable to salt deposition or infection. In this case, we are talking about the joints of the upper and lower extremities, which day by day help a person to carry out various processes of his life activity. More often than others, the shoulder joint is affected by arthritis, but in many cases people do not give this problem due attention and, I must say, in vain!

Etiology and disease mechanism

Arthritis of the shoulder joint is called an inflammatory process that affects the joint, connecting the humerus and the scapular area of ​​the fixed belt of the upper limb. It is known that any composition includes in its structure two free bone joints, consisting of a spherical head and a corresponding depression, interconnected by means of a cartilaginous layer and enclosed in an articular bag. In the inflammatory process, as a rule, one or more of the components of the joint are affected, thus disrupting its overall mobility.

The shoulder joint is the most mobile joint of the human body. He is able to carry out movements of a very different nature and intensity:

• Flexion - extension.
• Rotation around its axis.
• Lead and lead to the side.
• Combined circular motions.

It is no coincidence that such articular mobility is most susceptible to various kinds of injuries, and a large blood flow often contributes to the settling of infection in the depths of the articular sac.

According to the etiology of the origin of arthritis of the shoulder joints can be divided into:

1. Traumatic arthritis - resulting from joint injury (sprains,subluxations, displacements, sprains, in severe cases - a fracture of the inner bones), as a result of physical overload (carrying a heavy bag or jerking a suitcase towards yourself, sudden movements when the arm is raised upwards - frequent injuries to swimmers), long emphasis on the arm, too intense movement, etc.), or traumatic dislocation of external influences (for example, from a blow in the fall or as a result of a car accident).
2. Infectious lesions - arise as a separate infectious lesions of the articular bag, and as a result of complications after infections. These are the most common causes of the development of a purulent variant of arthritis, as a result of which purulent formations accumulate in the joint cavities. Often, an infectious lesion occurs as a result of an open gunshot or stab wound, in which pathogenic microorganisms penetrate directly into the tissue of the joint.
3. Damage to the joints in the presence of internal disease. These can be hormonal diseases (for example, diabetes mellitus), diseases associated with metabolic disorders (gout),as a result of which calcium, salts and other chemical compounds are deposited on the walls of the joints, preventing further normal operation of the joint.
4. Arthritis as a result of wear and tear of cartilage tissue and changes in the structure of the joint is, in fact, an acute stage of arthritis complication - arthrosis. In this case, inflammation occurs as a reaction to external factors (dietary disturbance, weather changes, stresses, overloads, etc.). This category includes arthrosis of the shoulder joint, osteoarthritis of closely spaced joints.

In addition to these reasons, there are some factors that contribute to the development of arthritis, including the shoulder joint:

• Hypothermia
• Heredity - the most common hereditarily weak ligamentous apparatus.
• Congenital pathologies of the joints.
• Injuries to the joints that occur during the birth process (dislocations, subluxations, etc.).
• The overall decrease in the immune response in humans.
• CNS diseases affecting the state of the articular apparatus.

Symptoms of arthritis of the shoulder joint

As a rule, the main signs of developing arthritis largely depend on the cause of the disease.However, there are a number of symptoms that apply to all types of inflammations in this category:

1. Pain - in any case, it will be intense, but the nature of the manifestation will be of different shades. Thus, with a sharply injured level, the level of pain syndrome may increase before the development of a painful shock, while with chronic chronic inflammatory foci, the pain will be painfully aching.
2. Redness - usually occurs in acute conditions, when the joint is affected by sharp movements, which result in the rupture of small capillaries and, as a result, small internal hemorrhages appear.
3. Swelling - is also characteristic of acute conditions, it is formed as a result of the displacement of internal tissues and the displacement of interstitial fluid into a certain space.
4. Mobility impairment is characteristic of all types of arthritis. It is formed as a result of inflammatory processes developing inside the joint itself, as well as a consequence of a complex of other symptoms (edema, swelling, congestion of blood, injuries, etc.), creating an obstacle for further movement.
5. Displacement of the joint - is observed quite rarely, if it is present, the knocked out components of the joint are clearly sensed. The pain is usually sharp, often cold sweats and loss of consciousness are possible.
6. Injury of joint tissues - occurs only in some cases with direct mechanical action of traumatic factors on the articular mechanism (with a gunshot wound, with a fall, with a sharp blow with a blunt object from the side (accident)).
7. The temperature is usually localized, i.e. at the site of injury to the tissues, but it can also be common, in this case, it indicates the infectious nature of the inflammation of the joint and possibly the beginning purulent process inside it.

It should be noted that inflammations of the shoulder joint associated with the internal factors of the occurrence of this pathology, for example, changes associated with impaired substances or hormonal type, have a less pronounced clinic, but the pain is more prolonged and aching.

Arthritis treatment of the shoulder joint

Any joint inflammation should not be treated on its own. It is recommended to seek professional medical care in specially created locations, or in the departments of traumatology and surgery, both ambulatory and inpatient.How can a doctor help?

1. Immobilization or immobility of the limb: after fixing the joint by imposing a special dressing (if required, only a dressing is sometimes sufficient, if the components of the joint are in place), conditions that exclude unnecessary mobility are necessarily created, which means additional injury to the joint.
2. Pain relief: As a rule, an anesthetic injection is given to reduce the inflammatory process.
3. If the injury is open, then a microsurgery is performed, aimed at disinfecting the wound space, filling it with antiseptic, wound healing and anti-inflammatory drugs. Plus, the question is raised about vaccination against tetanus to hinder the further development of a dangerous disease.
4. The patient is released under the further supervision of a specialist, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen, preparations containing nemusulide - nemesil, nemisulide, diclofenac, often the doctor recommends movalis) are prescribed to the house as a stable analgesia and to eliminate possible negative symptoms.
5. In the case of beatings, knife and gunshot wounds, a fall, the victim is hospitalized to monitor the general condition and exclude the development of brain concussion.

Arthritis treatment at home

If the patient does not have a fixing bandage, or at the end of her wearing, he can use the popular methods of arthritis treatment:

1. Compresses of herbal ingredients that have an anesthetic and soothing effect: cabbage mixed with honey and slightly heated to a comfortable body temperature is an excellent remedy; lotions from concentrated salt water (if there are no open wounds); compresses from fresh chopped onions.
2. Rubbing This category includes various alcoholic tinctures, both pharmaceutical production and independently prepared. Especially good preparations of lemongrass, peppermint, rosehip, lavender and nine-extracts.
3. Ointment. Especially effective is an ointment based on porcine fat and propolis (50 grams of fat / 3 grams of propolis).
4. Baths. They have a good soothing and anti-inflammatory effect, the most popular baths on coniferous extracts,on a combination of eucalyptus and aloe juice, on a concentrated train broth mixed with components of oak bark.

Perhaps the use of decoctions inside. Especially useful in this category will be a combination of green tea and corn silk.

Arthritis complications of the shoulder joint

The most difficult and formidable complication of this pathology is the further development of arthrosis - pathological modifications within the joint itself, differing in their deforming character. Treatment of arthrosis, as a rule, is carried out only in order to eliminate symptomatic manifestations. With strong lesions of the joints, the question is raised of their further replacement with artificial ones. Such an operation is called endoprosthetics.

Prevention of arthritis of the shoulder joint

To cure a disease is a difficult task, and therapy is rather long in time, because recovery periods sometimes take from three or more months. The disease takes a lot of patience and spends the victim's precious time, the aching pains deprive sleep, worsen mood and well-being. To prevent further recurrence of the disease, some simple rules should be followed:

1. Avoid working with heavy objects, especially if before that there was a traumatic arthritis with displaced joints.
2. Do not allow hypothermia injured joint: do not swim in too cold water bodies, adequately dressed, according to the weather, try to avoid drafts.
3. In time to treat concomitant diseases, as their infectious background can adversely affect the health of the joints.
4. Strengthen the immune function of the body.
5. Do not wear too tight, holding down the movement of clothing, as it contributes to the re-dislocation of the limb.

For any, even mild pain should consult a doctor for examination for deeper pathology (deforming arthrosis).

Video: arthritis and arthrosis - what is the difference between these diseases of the joints