Rheumatism: The Shoulder |
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The comforting thing about painful shoulders is that they always recover, even if slowly. The two commonest causes of trouble in the shoulder are osteo-arthritis -- sheer wear and tear leading to a creaking joint --- and a disorder of the tendon of the supraspinatus muscle, which runs along the top of the shoulder blade; it makes itself felt most when the arm is held horizontal or higher. This is a much slower affair which may take as long as three months developing, three months static and another three months disappearing, but it leaves no permanent damage.
A phrase you may sometimes hear is 'frozen shoulder'. This condition is the result of keeping the shoulder still for too long, either because of injury or because of paralysis; the shoulder joint itself becomes immovable and any attempt at moving it results in pain; movement of the arm is only made possible by shrugging the shoulder, thereby moving the shoulder blade over the chest and carrying the arm with it. Although a 'frozen' shoulder eventually improves, it improves very much faster with expert attention. |
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