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Shoulder Pain

• Understanding Shoulder Pain
  
  
• Stryker Treatment Options
  • Solar Total Shoulder System
  • Shoulder Joint Replacement FAQs
  • What to Expect from Surgery
  • Sarcoma Treatment Options
  
  
• Take Control
  
  
• Real Stories from Shoulder Replacement Recipients
  

Consider Replacement

Ready to Consider Shoulder Joint Replacement?

Replacement of an arthritic or injured shoulder is less common than knee or hip replacement. When necessary, however, shoulder replacement typically provides the same benefits as those procedures, including relief of joint pain and restoration of more normal joint movement.

Restoration of movement is particularly important in the shoulder — the body mechanism that allows your arm to rotate in every direction. If you're experiencing severe shoulder pain and reduced shoulder movement, there are probably many daily activities you can no longer do, or do as well as or as comfortably as, before your shoulder problems began. Does this mean you're ready to consider shoulder replacement surgery? The information here is designed to help you make that decision.

Understanding How Shoulders Work

By understanding how a normal, healthy shoulder works, it will be easier for you to understand the way a shoulder joint prosthesis, or artificial shoulder joint, works — and the difference it may make in your life.

Find an Orthopaedic Doctor Search for Orthopedic Doctors in your area. Receive the names and addresses of Orthopedic Doctors who have used or are familiar with Stryker products.

A joint is formed by the ends of 2 or more bones that are connected by thick bands of tissue called ligaments. The shoulder typically involves 2 bones:

• The scapula (shoulder blade)
• The humerus (upper arm bone)

The rotator cuff — 4 muscles connecting the humerus with the scapula — supplies stability and balance to the shoulder joint. Proper rotator cuff balance is essential for arm raising and rotation. When you raise your arm, the rotator cuff holds the humeral head tightly within the socket (glenoid) of the scapula.

A smooth substance called articular cartilage covers the surface of the bones where they touch each other within a joint. This articular cartilage acts as a cushion between the bones. In addition, lubricated sacs of tissue called bursae (singular: bursa) also protect muscles and tendons, allowing them to slide against each other with less friction. In the shoulder, one of these bursae is located between the rotator cuff and the acromion — the part of the scapula that "roofs" the shoulder. As with other joints, the remainder of the shoulder joint surfaces is covered by a thin, smooth tissue liner called synovial membrane, which makes a small amount of fluid that acts as a lubricant so that the joint bones will not rub against each other.