Shoulder Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis of the shoulder is characterized by the destruction of the protective cartilage in the joint with 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. There is usually a history of trauma to the shoulder or previous surgery. While plain x-rays can confirm the presence of osteoarthritis in the shoulder, the most common unseen culprit to the development of arthritis is chronic ligamentous laxity. Following trauma to the shoulder, such as a fracture, damaged ligaments may go undetected. The excessive play in the joint may result in the development of bone spur, 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 convice 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. This is especially true for athletes who fracture the bones of a joint, such as the shoulder. The ligamentous injuries need to be treated with Prolotherapy. Otherwise cartilage deterioration, bone spurs, and osteoarthritis will form.

Osteoarthritis is not a common problem for the young athlete, but young athletes beware! At some point, you will get older and be a senior citizen who lives for tennis or whatever the sport, so prevent osteoarthritis now! Osteoarthritis due to weak ligaments can be prevented in later life by doing Prolotherapy today. Anytime you are injured, make sure you heal completely. The best way to do this is to have a Prolotherapy doctor on your sports team. Only this person has the expertise to diagnose and treat ligament injuries with Prolotherapy.

Prolotherapy is an excellent treatment for lligamentous 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, (Watch where do Prolotherapy injections go and do they hurt?) , 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.