Shoulder Arthritis Symptoms You Should Never Ignore

Shoulder pain can be a very serious thing. It can be the symptom of arthritis – an inflammatory disease of the joint. If neglected, it can cause serious degenerative changes in the joints, surrounding tissues, and even bones. If not treated in time, you may even lose the function of your shoulder.

Arthritis can develop in several ways, depending on individual problems. It is very important to determine its cause and amount of tissues damaged. This is why diagnostics of arthritis require multiple different exams, including X-ray, ultrasound exam, blood analyses, sometimes MRI and CT scan. In some cases, even a puncture of the joint cavity is needed.

Possible Causes of Shoulder Arthritis

The range of possible causes of arthritis is wide. It can be caused by:

• Infections
• Injuries
• Autoimmune diseases
• Allergies
• Overcooling
• Degenerative processes
• Weak immunity
• Somatic diseases

It is quite possible that you will need a full body diagnostic to reveal the cause of arthritis.

Symptoms of Shoulder Arthritis

1. Joint pain that grows with each movement. It can spread over to the neck. If there is a purulent process developing in the joint, the pain can be very intense. The pain of the autoimmune background is weaker.
2. Swelling of the joint that can spread down to the elbow or even wrist.
3. A feeling of heat in the joint (or even a general fever).
4. Hyperemia. If there is a purulent inflammation, the red color of the skin is very bright.
5. Pain and difficulty during movements.
6. If arthritis progresses, muscular hypotrophy may develop in shoulders because of the improper function of the joint.

Treatment of Shoulder Arthritis

Therapy can be very individual for each person. Generally, it consists of three stages:

1. Treatment of acute inflammation.
2. Recovery of the joint function.
3. Strengthening the muscles around the joint.

In the case of purulent inflammation, surgery will be needed. The list of methods for shoulder arthritis treatment is quite long. They include:

• Limited mobility with fixation. Rapid movements and lifting heavy objects are forbidden.
• Non-steroid anti-inflammatory therapy.
• Anti-spasmodic medications.
• Hormonal anti-inflammatory preparation (when there is no purulent process).
• Systemic autoimmune therapy.
• Antibacterial therapy (when the infection caused the disease).
• Physical therapy.
• Special exercises.
• Massage.
• Chondroprotection and synovial fluid substitutes based on hyaluronic acid.

This disease gets complicated easily and requires a big effort for treatment. Timely diagnostics will increase the chances for a quicker recovery.