Joint wear

Joint wear

The cartilage surface of the “ball and socket” part of the shoulder is worn away. It can be caused by long periods of physical work, fractures of the shoulder, inflammatory joint diseases (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis), but often we do not know the cause, and genetic causes are likely. Physical examination and imaging (mainly X-rays) have a role to play in its diagnosis. These can also be used to determine the progress of the wear and tear process, which also determines the therapy. In the case of mild wear, conservative, i.e. non-surgical solutions are recommended (physiotherapy, physical therapy, possibly hyaluronic acid injections into the joint). In more advanced cases, with severe symptoms, the possibility and necessity of implanting a prosthesis is also considered. Among the many types of prosthesis (hemiarthroplasty (“semi-prosthesis”) or total arthroplasty (“total prosthesis”), or resurfacing prosthesis, anatomical prosthesis, reverse shoulder prosthesis), the appropriate surgical solution is decided on the basis of the condition of the joint, the condition of the surrounding rotator cuff tendons, the age of the patient, the degree of osteoporosis, etc.