Shoulder arthrosis (also called omarthrosis) is a slowly progressing disease with initially unspecific symptoms. It is characterized by a progressive degradation of the cartilage up to its complete loss. In the case of so-called cartilage baldness, it is possible that bone rubs against bone and causes pain when the shoulder joint is moved.
Shoulder arthrosis usually affects older people, but can also be caused by previous shoulder injuries. The shoulder impingement syndrome is the most common form of shoulder arthrosis. The diagnosis is based on the pain symptoms and limited mobility, so that physicians can quickly determine the diagnosis of shoulder arthrosis by means of a specific anamnesis and special diagnostic procedures.
Symptoms
Since shoulder arthrosis usually develops over a period of years, the first symptoms are not noticed by many people or are not associated with the disease. The first symptoms of a developing shoulder arthrosis can be shoulder pain, which occurs mainly at night and early in the morning, if one has slept in the wrong position or if the shoulder has been put under too much pressure. Similarly, everyday movements are more difficult, typically overhead movements, such as blow-drying your hair or reaching back into your pocket.
So the shoulder loses its freedom of movement over time. In shoulder arthrosis, this restriction of movement is in all directions of the joint, which ultimately means that shoulder arthrosis causes the joint to become progressively stiffer. If this stiffening occurs suddenly and without an explainable reason, the clinical picture of frozen shoulder should be clarified.
In the further course of the disease, typical symptoms are increasing pain at rest, initially after greater exertion, but later also without a specific reason, unexplained loss of strength in the affected arm, and pain during movement, especially during rotational movements of the shoulder. As a result of the restricted mobility and the resulting pain, many patients develop a relieving posture and avoid painful movements, which allows the stiffening of the shoulder to progress even faster. Since the following article deals with similar pain symptoms, you may also be interested in this one: Pain/symptoms of rotator cuff rupture The following article may also be of interest to you: Exercises with a Frozen Shoulder
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