Medical examination
During the physical examination, the physician will not initially discover any changes despite external symptoms, since the shoulder joint is surrounded by a thick soft tissue mantle of skin and muscles. There is no characteristic pressure pain at a specific point on the shoulder, as is typically found with other shoulder diseases such as acromioclavicular joint arthrosis, impingement syndrome or inflammation of the long biceps tendon. The symptoms of shoulder arthrosis are diffusely distributed over the shoulder joint, only sometimes accentuated over the front and rear joint space.
Complaints can be provoked relatively reliably if the physician rotates the arm, which is spread at 90° and bent in the elbow joint, and at the same time exerts pressure against the socket by pressing the patient’s elbow against the shoulder during the rotational movement. The increased friction in the shoulder arthrosis joint causes the patient pain. Such maneuvers are necessary in order to make a suspected diagnosis, which is the reason for further examinations. This topic may also be of interest to you: Therapy of shoulder arthrosis