The shoulder is a complicated and sensitive joint and is essential for almost every movement. Inflammations and injuries can damage it and lead to pain and restricted movement. Below you will find the most important and most frequent diseases and injuries of the shoulder joint and the muscle and ligament apparatus involved, classified according to how they develop.
Classification of shoulder diseases
In the following you will find the most common diseases and injuries of the shoulder divided into
- Inflammations in the shoulder area
- Injuries to the shoulder
- Shoulder diseases as a result of wear and tear and incorrect loading
The shoulder is one of the most strained joints in our body and is under heavy strain, especially for tennis players but also for various professions such as craftsmen. Inflammation of the shoulder can have many causes, but is always associated with pain and reduced mobility, which usually limits everyday activities considerably, since even everyday dressing is often difficult. For this reason, an inflammation in the shoulder should always be treated by an expert doctor.
The term biceps tendon inflammation refers to the presence of inflammatory processes in the area of the biceps tendon. In most cases, these inflammatory processes affect the long tendon of the biceps muscle. It is therefore not directly an inflammation of the muscle.
It is usually caused by wear and tear, often in throwing sports. The treatment of biceps tendon inflammation depends mainly on the underlying cause. Bursitis subacromialis is the inflammation of a bursa in the shoulder joint.
It is one of the most common shoulder diseases and is accompanied by severe pain. It is often caused by an incorrect load. The therapy consists in particular of immobilizing and sparing the shoulder.
If the pain cannot be brought under control, the use of medication is recommended. Inflammation in the area of the rotator cuff is one of the most common diseases of the shoulder. The inflammation of the muscles can be caused by various underlying diseases.
The most common causes of inflammation in the area of the rotator cuff include impairment of the tendon sheaths, bottleneck syndromes and traumatic changes in the bony structures of the shoulder joint. More information on this topic can be found here: Inflammation of the rotator cuffThe long biceps tendon usually tears as a result of wear and tear even at low loads. A biceps tendon rupture results in restrictions in the function of the muscle to varying degrees, depending on the tendon affected.
There are several options available for the treatment of a ruptured biceps tendon, a doctor should always be consulted. During extreme movements, the ligaments and muscles of the shoulder are tensed and block further movement in this direction. However, if a movement is now performed with so much momentum that the ligaments cannot withstand this tension, the ligaments are stretched, or in the more extreme case, the ligament is torn.
They can occur during sports or everyday activities and are often accompanied by pain. It is important to take care of the shoulder afterwards. A torn ligament of the shoulder is a rupture of the ligament structures located there, which contribute to the stability of the joint.
Tearing of the ligament structures often occurs during a fall with direct force applied to the shoulder joint and when the arm is stretched out, resulting in severe pain. There are various treatment options available. If a rotator cuff tears, the tendon sheath of these rotators tears, most frequently the supraspinatus tendon because of its anatomically tight position under the acromion.
Such a tear occurs either as a result of a severe accident, e.g. a fall on the outstretched arm, or as a result of degeneration (wear) of the weakened supraspinatus tendon. Various options and exercises are available for treatment. A contusion of the shoulder is an injury to the shoulder, usually caused by a fall or impact trauma.
A contusion can cause bruising and swelling due to the force applied to the affected tissue. A contusion of the shoulder is painful, often the affected shoulder cannot be loaded as usual.It usually heals without consequences. Acromioclavicular dislocation is a dislocation of the lateral end of the clavicle towards the acromion with injury to the stabilizing capsule-ligament apparatus of the acromioclavicular joint.
The most common cause is a fall on the shoulder with direct force application on the acromioclavicular joint. It manifests itself mainly in three symptoms: pain directly above the shoulder joint, swelling of the shoulder area and relieving posture. Instabilities occur primarily in the shoulder joint, which can be explained by the anatomy of the shoulder joint.
Shoulder joint instability can be congenital or occur after an accident. It usually manifests itself through severe pain. Treatment of shoulder joint instability can essentially be carried out in two different ways: Conservative and surgical therapy.
A dislocation of the shoulder joint is generally described as a very painful dislocation of the shoulder joint. There are different causes for the occurrence of a shoulder dislocation. The most common, however, is a levering movement of the upper arm with simultaneous external rotation, in which the arm moves away from the body.
It is usually accompanied by severe pain. The therapy can be conservative or surgical. Injuries and damage to the labrum-biceps complex are called slap lesions.
The reason why a SLAP lesion is triggered can be acute but also chronic, e.g. due to overstrain. If it is a chronic slap lesion, the patient may not notice at first. If the lesion progresses and is not treated, the patient will usually report pain when under heavy strain. In the case of a manifest slap lesion, the surgical treatment method is often the only therapeutically sensible procedure.
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