Shoulder Arthritis Treatments
As you go about your daily life, you may experience shoulder pain and irritation when performing necessary tasks, such as while putting on your coat to go for a walk or while mixing your extra-thick batch of homemade chocolate chip cookie dough. You may find yourself hesitating to perform any movements that could trigger this shoulder pain. This frustrating disruption to your lifestyle could be shoulder arthritis. Arthritis in the shoulder can cause stiffness, joint pain, swelling, immobility, and overall diminished quality of life. The doctors at ORTHOKnox can provide the best treatments available to reduce your pain and give you the best chance of maintaining an active lifestyle.
What is shoulder arthritis?
Arthritis is the degeneration of articular cartilage. As the cartilage disappears in your shoulder, it can cause pain with arm movements, reduce your range of motion, and limit your activities, such as housework, getting ready for your day, cooking, and working. The flaking away of cartilage exposes the bony surface of your joint, which can cause pain with motion and even disrupts your sleep.
How is shoulder arthritis diagnosed?
Your doctor at ORTHOKnox may conduct an X-ray when diagnosing shoulder arthritis to determine the extent of cartilage loss by analyzing the space between your bone of the ball and bone of the socket. Your doctor may perform a CT or MRI scan for further diagnosis.
What are my treatment options for shoulder arthritis?
Conservative treatments of shoulder arthritis include activity modification by placing less stress on the shoulder by reducing arm movements. Moist heat and ice may also help relieve pain and inflammation of the shoulder. In many cases, surgical treatment is necessary to alleviate pain and restore functional movement of the shoulder. While arthritis cannot be reversed, the board-certified surgeons at ORTHOKnox can provide the best available treatments for shoulder arthritis to give you more mobility with less pain and increase your quality of life.
During arthroscopic surgery, your surgeon at ORTHOKnox will place a small camera inside your shoulder joint and manipulate the shoulder tissue, with a total of two incisions. The surgeon can remove loose cartilage and bone to reduce shoulder pain and irritation.
The cartilage surrounding your shoulder ball and socket can be replaced with healthy cartilage from your knee, a non-articulating joint, or a donor. The goal is to stimulate growth of new cartilage.
As above with cartilage transplants, the goal of microfracture treatment is to stimulate growth of new cartilage. By removing the damaged cartilage and drilling holes into the bone marrow, the healing capacity of stem cells is incited to activate new cartilage growth.
Surgeons replace the head of the humerus with a metal ball and the shoulder socket with plastic to eliminate pain and inflammation during a joint replacement. Your board-certified surgeon at ORTHOKnox will precisely place the pieces to ensure the best fit and smoothest motion. Your surgeon may also recommend a reverse shoulder replacement (position of ball and socket are switched) if your rotator cuff is irreparable.
Each of these surgeries benefits from several weeks of physical therapy provided by ORTHOKnox’s onsite physical therapists who help patients safely recover and regain mobility. The team at ORTHOKnox works together to ensure you have the opportunity to live an active and productive life.
With its board-certified surgeons and new Urgent Orthpaedic Care that is available without an appointment, ORTHOKnox has got you covered. For more information about how ORTHOKnox can treat your shoulder arthritis, call (865) 251-3030, or fill out our easy-to-use online appointment request form. We look forward to hearing from you!
