Osteoarthritis affects around 10 million people in the UK. The condition – which is a degenerative disease predominantly linked to ageing – occurs most often in weight-bearing joints like the knee (5.4 million people in the UK) and the hip (3.2 million people in the UK). Arthritis of the thumb is also common, occurring in around 25% of women over the age of 55.
Osteoarthritis is more prevalent than rheumatoid arthritis which is an autoimmune disease that affects around 450,000 adults in the UK. There are other forms of arthritis, too, including gout (1.6 million people in the UK), psoriatic arthritis (190,000 adults in the UK) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (12,000 children in the UK).
How common are shoulder and elbow arthritis?
Shoulder arthritis – also referred to as glenohumeral osteoarthritis affects almost one in three people over the age of 60 to some extent.
The elbow is one of the joints in the body least likely to be affected by osteoarthritis because its powerful ligaments help to stabilise the joint, meaning it can tolerate large forces and is less likely to become unstable than weight-bearing joints. Nevertheless, if you injure your elbow the risk of developing arthritis in the joint increases. This is particularly true if surgical repair was needed or if you lost joint cartilage or function in your elbow joint. When you injure the ligaments around your elbow, it affects the forces across the joint which can lead to it wearing out more quickly. Alternatively, repeatedly placing a heavy demand on your elbow joint – for example by participating in certain sports that require repeated throwing or doing a job that stresses the elbow joint, such as painting and decorating – it may affect the function of the ligaments and lead to the breakdown of cartilage in the joint. This can leave you prone to elbow arthritis.
What causes shoulder and elbow arthritis?
Osteoarthritis is sometimes called wear and tear arthritis because it usually affects people over the age of 50 It is degenerative disease with no cure, although treatments are available to slow the development of the condition and help you to live a full and active life. When you have osteoarthritis the cartilage that covers the outside of your bones, helping them to move smoothly against each other when you move, becomes frayed and rough and the protective space between the bones decreases. Over time, the bones inside your joint start to rub against each other causing inflammation and pain. If you seriously injure your shoulder or elbow, your chances of developing osteoarthritis increase.
Fast facts about shoulder and elbow arthritis
Symptoms:
Shoulder arthritis: Pain that gets worse when you use your shoulder and increases as the disease develops. You may be particularly affected at night, making sleeping difficult. If the glenohumeral joint is affected the pain is located in the back or side of the shoulder. It may feel like a deep ache and can be affected by the weather.
If you have arthritis in the acromioclavicular joint, the pain will be in the top of the shoulder and may radiate to the side of the neck. If you have rheumatoid arthritis, you may have pain in both locations. Shoulder arthritis can make it difficult to reach your arms above your head – for example to brush your hair. You may hear a grinding, clicking or snapping noise when you move your shoulder (referred to as crepitus).
Elbow arthritis: As with all forms of arthritis, pain and stiffness of the joint are the primary symptoms. Your elbow may grate or lock when you move it due to deterioration in the naturally smooth surface of the joint or pieces of cartilage or bone becoming dislodged from the joint and getting trapped between the moving surfaces. As the disease progresses you may develop tingling or numbness in your ring finger or little finger due to swelling in the elbow joint putting pressure on the ulnar nerve. Your elbow may stiffen so much it may become fixed in a bent position.
Diagnosis:
Both shoulder and elbow arthritis will require medical diagnosis. Your doctor will carry out a physical examination, including assessing you for pain, weakness and any deformity of the joint. They may listen for crepitus and ask about previous injuries or surgery. An X-ray may be needed to reveal any changes in the bone, including the formation of bony spurs called osteophytes and a narrowing of the joint space, which are signs of arthritis.
Treatment:
Treatments are available to help you manage the symptoms. Depending on the severity of the condition, you may be able to manage it using non-surgical treatments such as painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication, physiotherapy exercises to improve your strength and range of motion, using heat or cold therapy, injections of corticosteroids into the affected joint for temporary pain-relief, and lifestyle changes such as improving your diet or exercising to maintain a healthy body weight and improve joint function.
More severe arthritis may need to be treated surgically. Elbow replacement surgery is avoided wherever possible, and clean-up ‘debridement’ operations are preferred. However this does not work for the shoulder and you may need to undergo joint replacement surgery, which is a very established and successful procedure. With shoulder joint replacement, there are several options, including a total shoulder replacement (which involves replacing both the ball and socket part of the joint), a hemiarthroplasty (which involves just replacing the ball part of the joint) or a reverse total shoulder replacement (which is where the artificial ‘ball’ part of the joint is attached inside the socket and an artificial ‘socket’ part of the joint is fixed to the upper end of the arm bone).
Related Reading:
Treatments for Shoulder Arthritis
Shoulder Arthritis: Can It be Treated?
Double Shoulder Replacement Surgery
Treatments for Elbow Arthritis
If you have pain in your elbow or shoulder it is important to get a diagnosis as early as possible as prompt treatment can slow the development of arthritis. Alternatively, the pain may have a different cause.
Contact us if you need help or advice about diagnosing or treating shoulder or elbow pain.
Orthopaedic Consultant & Surgeon | London
Thames Shoulder & Elbow are able to provide advice and support to anyone experiencing symptoms affecting the upper limbs (shoulder, upper arm, elbow, forearm and wrist).
Telephone: 020 376 15987
Email: admin@thamesshoulderandelbow.co.uk
Our Locations
Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, St John’s Wood – Directions
BMI The Syon Clinic, Brentford – Directions
HCA Chiswick Medical Centre, Chiswick – Directions
West Middlesex University Hospital, Chelsea and Westminster Foundation Trust, Isleworth – Directions
