Milwaukee Shoulder: The Shoulder With Recurrent Massive Effusions
Let’s start with the most important point: If a senior’s shoulder repeatedly swells with fluid, and you can draw out a large bottle every time, it’s mostly not “simple degeneration,” but another disease. This post is for you if you have an older family member whose shoulder repeatedly fills with fluid, has been aspirated several times, but always swells up again quickly. What is this disease? Inside the shoulder is a group of tendons called the “rotator cuff,” which is responsible for hanging the arm steadily in the shoulder socket. As we age, this tendon group can tear completely. After it tears, the humeral head moves upward, and bone rubs directly against bone. The fine calcium salt crystals ground off fall into the joint cavity, which in turn stimulates the joint lining to inflame and continue the destruction. ...