Shoulder Arthritis? Tablets, Not Replacements Are The Answer – Orthopaedic Surgeons

Writer: Robert Valenzuela on Jul 16 2010.

A factual report based on clinical practice has been approved by the The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) as a guideline for “The Treatment of Glenohumeral Joint Osteoarthriti.”

The joints between the head of the humerous and the scapular socket are prone to osteoarthritis which causes too much pain, dysfunction, and making life less enjoyable.

Surgery substituting damaged shoulders has become a common practice for victims with advanced shoulder osteoarthritis.

This is according Dr. Rolando Izquirdo, MD, who is the chairperson of a group working on glenohumeral joint arthritis.

Literature reviews have upheld the relevance in performing both total and partial shoulder replacement surgery.

“The literature suggests, though, that pain relief is better and motion is better with total joint replacements than with partial replacements,” says Dr. Izquierdo. “We also have to consider the 14 percent failure rate of partial replacements, which then require revision to total replacements. This revision is required due to progressive arthritis and pain.

“Because of a scarcity of high quality prospective studies, however, surgeons have few measures to support non-operative therapies for treating osteoarthritis of the shoulder,” he adds.

There are 16 guidelines in recommending the treatment of individuals with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis. There’s a choice between performing an operation or none at all. The following are some of the following suggestions:

• Statistics indicate that viscoussupplementations according to some industry studies, showed promise in pain reduction, increased movement, and improved quality of life in people with shoulder osteoarthritis. Viscoussupplementations are more of artificial carbon copy of the real lubricants found in the joints. These are then injected by the doctors to the impaired joints. The FDA has ruled viscoussupplementations as implants and has approved its use for treating patients with glenohumeral joint osteoarthritis. Treating the knees with viscoussupplementations injections was given approval more than a decade ago but none for shoulder use.

• Blood clot formations should be closely monitored and any appearance of blood clots would be devastating to the r esult of the operation. Constant exercise coupled with blood-thinning drugs will help avert blood clots. These preventive measures will come a long way in helping the patients. And the recommendations have the consensus of the Academy work group.

There are no journals that support any actions for or against the treatments of osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral joint in the following methods:

• Using drug therapy

• Using injectable steroids

• Arthroscopy (surgical procedure surgeons usually do to diagnose and treat problems inside a joint).

Furthermore, despite an exhaustive review of the literature, not a single study exists to support the use of physical therapy either for treating osteoarthritis of the shoulder or for treatment after replacement, Dr. Izquierdo says.

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