Diseases Affecting the Shoulder

Following are some orthopaedic conditions that affect the shoulder joint. If there is something wrong with your shoulder, the following conditions are the most likely causes. How to differentiate each of the following will be discussed in my later posts.

Diseases affecting the bones –

·         Fractures – fractures in clavicle, scapula, neck of the humerus

·         Neoplasm – secondary deposits

Diseases in the joint

·         Dislocation

·         Osteoarthritis

·         Rheumatoid arthritis

·         Septic arthritis

·         Tuberculous arthritis

·         Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder)

Diseases affecting the muscles and the tendons

·         Rotator cuff tears

·         Impingement syndrome

·         Supraspinatus tendinitis

Congenital diseases

·         Kippel-Feil Syndrome

Neurological

·         Winged scapula

Referred Pain

·         From the cervical spine – cervical spondilosis and pancaost tumour

·         From Heart 

·         From the mediastinum

·         Irritation of the diaphragm – could be both due to pleurisy or ascites