About the Health Information

• You lift your arms to grab something off a shelf and your shoulder stiffens, grinds and cracks. No part of that feeling makes you want to move your shoulder more. But that’s exactly what has to happen to help your shoulder function better and hurt less. There are many different forms of shoulder arthritis — from osteoarthritis to rheumatoid arthritis. No matter which type of shoulder arthritis you have, your doctor will recommend shoulder exercises as an important part of your shoulder arthritis treatment plan.

Types of shoulder arthritis
Osteoarthritis

• In OA, the cartilage in the shoulder joint gradually wears down and the protective space between the bones decreases. Bone-on-bone rubbing and friction in the joint leads to pain, stiffness and limited range of motion. Everyday tasks like combing your hair or carrying a bag become more challenging and painful. Loss of range of motion in the shoulder can also lead to muscle spasms throughout the shoulder and the neck, which can cause headaches. Osteoarthritis usually affects people over 50 years and is more common in the AC joint than in the glenohumeral shoulder joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis

• With RA, the immune system mistakenly attacks a protective lining in your joint called the synovium, and destroys the cartilage. Though RA tends to affect smaller joints first (such as those in your hands and feet), symptoms can spread to both shoulders as the disease progresses.

Post-traumatic arthritis

• A shoulder injury — like a fracture or dislocation — can damage the cartilage or cause additional wear and tear, which can result in arthritis.

Rotator cuff tear arthropathy

• The rotator cuff is comprised of tendons and muscles that wrap around the ball portion of your upper arm bone, keeping it centred in the shoulder socket. If one or more of these tendons is heavily torn, it may cause the head of the upper arm to rub against other bones, damaging the surfaces and leading to arthritis.

Avascular necrosis

• This is when bone tissue dies due to a lack of blood supply. In the shoulder, blood flow may be disrupted to the head of the upper bone due to disease, injury or other causes. Without blood supply, the bone will slowly collapse, becoming uneven and causing arthritis.