One of the causes of pain in Shoulder in elderly person can be arthritis of the shoulder joint. This can be degenerative ( wear & tear), after injury or following rotator cuff . This can lead to painful restriction of movement with weakness. Gradually patient develops pain at rest and it starts disturbing their sleep too.
Painful shoulder arthritis is initially managed with medicines, physiotherapy and injections. If that fails then the treatment is Shoulder replacement. Replacing arthritic shoulder joint gives excellent pain relief and mobility. Their are different kind of shoulder replacement surgeries depending on the cause of arthritis. Consult your shoulder surgeon for the one appropriate for you.
Shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint. Most of shoulder movements occur where the ball at top of your arm bone (humerus) fits into the socket (gleniod) which is a part of shoulder blade (scapula). Arthritis of the shoulder develops when smooth, gliding surfaces of the ball and socket are damaged.
Shoulder Joint arthritis usually present as pain and stiffness of the shoulder joint. The patient will have difficulty in raising his arm and will have problem in performing his day to day activities. In advanced arthritis the patient may have pain even at rest and will disturb his sleep too.
The most common reason for replacing the shoulder joint are for arthritis, either osteo-arthritis (wear and tear) or rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be necessary following a bad fracture. With arthritis the joint becomes painful and difficult to move. Sometimes the deep layer of muscles (rotator cuff) which control shoulder movements can also be worn or damaged. In shoulder replacement surgery, the damaged joint is replaced with bio-compatible devices that provide smooth and painless range of motion. The main reason for doing the operation is to reduce the pain in your shoulder. Ultimately you may also have more movement in your shoulder. This depends on how stiff the joint was before the operation and if the muscles around the shoulder are damaged and unable to work normally.
