A frequency of clinically serious osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral articulation is expressively smaller than a frequency of osteoarthritis of the coxa which manifests a similar joint in the area of lower limbs as the glenohumeral articulation in the area of the upper limb. A rarer occurrence of osteoarthritis of the shoulder joint in comparison with the coxa is explainable due to its much more smaller loading. From this reasons we are obliged by the X-ray finding to search for secondary causes of osteoarthritis. Some authors eliminate the primary osteoarthritis of the shoulder girdle, and they consider it to be a secondary manifestation of other illnesses.
| X-ray diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the glenohumeral articulation (AP projection) |
a constriction of the intra-articular space
a formation of osteophytes
sclerosis and formation of cysts
Also after the determination of the X-ray diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the shoulder girdle it is necessary to eliminate secondary causes which could lead to it. In any case it is not possible to derive clinical problems from the X-ray finding, so the diagnosis of osteoarthritis on the basis of X-ray is a nonsense1.
Author's note to the existence of osteoarthritis of the
glenohumeral articulation:
Most patients with so-called arthrosis of the glenohumeral articulation, whose diagnosis was determined on the basis of X-ray picture and pains of the shoulder, have problems evoked by other diseases – mainly by tenovaginitis of the long head of the biceps. In the area of the whole moving system we have to get down to diagnoses mainly lying in X-ray criteria, which are mostly the diagnostic criteria formed before the year 1985. We also cannot judge patient's problems on the basis of the X-ray finding. Problems of the moving system are at least at the beginning the problems of soft tissues, and not the problems of bones or joints. The X-ray picture is only a delayed witness of a reaction of X-ray contrasting skeleton on the primary pathology of soft tissues.