Shoulder Arthritis Treatment in Chillicothe, OH

Types of Shoulder Arthritis

There are over many different types of arthritis. The types that most commonly affect the shoulder are:

• Osteoarthritis – This is the most common form of arthritis. It occurs often in older people. It is a condition that destroys the cartilage of bone. As the cartilage wears away, the bones of the joint rub against each other and cause pain.
• Posttraumatic arthritis – This is a form of osteoarthritis that develops after an injury, such as a shoulder fracture or dislocation.
• Rheumatoid arthritis – An auto-immune disease that attacks multiple joints throughout the body. This most often affects women of childbearing age. It most commonly affects joints of the hands and feet and tends to be symmetrical, affecting both sides of the body.
• Shoulder cuff tear arthropathy – Arthritis can develop after a chronic, retracted rotator cuff tendon tear. When a torn rotator cuff cannot hold the head of the humerus in the glenoid socket, this can cause asymmetric rubbing of the humeral head against the socket, causing arthritis to develop.
• Avascular necrosis (AVN) – This is a painful condition where the blood supply to the head of the humerus is disrupted. Bone cells die without a supply of blood, so AVN can lead to the destruction of the shoulder joint and arthritis.

Diagnosing Shoulder Arthritis

To determine whether you suffer from shoulder arthritis, Dr. Cohen or one of his sports medicine colleagues will gather a complete “history of present illness” from you. Next, the doctor will conduct a focused, comprehensive physical exam to evaluate your shoulder for areas of tenderness, assess range of motion and establish whether you have normal or decreased arm strength. Depending on the findings, they may order an X-ray, perform an ultrasound and/or order an MRI or CT scan.