The Shoulder

Osteoarthrosis

Arthrosis at the shoulder does not usually provoke much pain, the patient merely complaining of crepitus and some vague stiffness.
During and after exertion there may be a vague ache which usually disappears after a few hours or a day.

Clinical examination reveals a slight capsular pattern with a hard endfeel.
There may be slight pain at the end of range.
The resisted movements are painless.

Radiography shows glenohumeral cartilage loss, an enlarged and flattened humeral head, subchondral sclerosis, intraosseous cysts and peripheral osteophytes.

However, an osteoarthrotic shoulder joint is much more liable to develop traumatic arthritis - or immobilizational arthritis. A patient with a known "ostearthrosis" starts to have serious complaints about the shoulder has a reasonable that a traumatic arthritis has supervened.

Treatment

An uncomplicated arthrosis does not need any treatment at all.
A superimposed traumatic arthritis or immobilizational arthritis is treated as usual.