Can exercises help shoulder arthritis?
If exercises are not too painful, they may be helpful in maintaining the flexibility and strength of joints with arthritis. In most cases these exercises can be done in the patient’s home with minimal equipment. Shoulder exercises are best performed gently several times a day on an ongoing basis. Often the exercises will help during the earlier phases of the condition. The exercises are not dangerous if they are performed gently. The diagrams show two examples of these exercises. Figure 4 shows a patient using the left arm to help lift the stiff right shoulder in a forward direction. Figure 5 shows a patient using the left arm to gently stretch the stiff right arm in external rotation using a yardstick. Sometimes other types of therapy are used by physical therapists. Patients should learn the possible risks of these approaches as well as their costs and anticipated effectiveness.Specifically, how is shoulder arthritis improved by shoulder replacement surgery? When combined with a good
