SHOULDER ARTHRITIS
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SHOULDER ARTHRITIS
Ross Hauser, M.D.
Osteoarthritis of the shoulder is characterized by the destruction of the protective cartilage in the joint, resulting in painful and restricted motion. Arthritis does not affect the shoulder joint as often as it does large weight-bearing joints, such as the hip and knee. With the shoulder, there is usually a history of injury or trauma to the shoulder or previous surgery.
While x-rays can confirm the presence of osteoarthritis in the shoulder, they cannot confirm the most common unseen culprit to the development of arthritis, chronic ligamentous laxity.
Following an injury to the shoulder, damaged ligaments may go undetected. The excessive play in the joint may result in the development of bone spurs, which is the body's way of reducing joint motion. Remember, that if the physician tells you that a bone spur is found on x-ray, it almost universally means that there is ligament laxity. The orthopedic surgeon may convince the patient that the spur must be surgically removed. This, however, does nothing to remove the cause of the spur. This whole situation can be prevented if proper shoulder management is followed by the treatment of ligamentous injuries with Prolotherapy, because the cause of the spurs is addressed.
Prolotherapy is an excellent treatment for ligamentous laxity that leads to osteoarthritis. As with most disease states, catching the problem early is the smart thing to do. Severe or late-stage osteoarthritis of the shoulder can be improved with Prolotherapy injections, but results are less dramatic because of the permanent destruction of cartilage. In this situation it can provide some pain relief, but often natural medicine treatments are also needed. Using the natural medicine approach, in conjunction with Prolotherapy, has allowed many people to avoid total joint replacements.
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