[메디컬투데이=김준수 기자] The acromioclavicular joint is the joint located at the top of the shoulder, and is formed when the acromion, the outermost part of the scapula, and the clavicle, a horizontal bone on the chest, meet each other. Acromioclavicular arthritis is a joint deformity and inflammation caused by trauma, repetitive activities, or lying on one’s side in a hard place in the joint capsule or surrounding ligaments surrounding the acromioclavicular joint.
Acromioclavicular ligament damage usually occurs when the shoulder collides with the ground as a result of a fall during intense exercise such as cycling or skiing, or when there is trauma to the shoulder in a car accident, etc. Arthritis of the joint occurs. Acromioclavicular arthritis is an unfamiliar shoulder disease compared to frozen shoulder and rotator cuff tear, but in fact, the incidence rate is high enough to account for regarding 10% of shoulder disease patients.
Aside from damage to the acromioclavicular joint, symptoms of acromioclavicular arthritis include pain in a specific position above the shoulder (acromion), especially in the acromion when the arm is raised upward, and pain in the acromion becomes worse when lying on the painful side while sleeping or following waking up. it gets worse
When the acromioclavicular joint is severely impacted and the clavicle is dislocated, it is not difficult to diagnose acromioclavicular joint disease by checking bruises or shoulder deformity. It is necessary to distinguish it from other diseases.
| ▲ Director Hong Han-pyo (Photo = Provided by Seo Jae-gon Linker Hospital) |
Regarding this, Hong Han-pyo, director of the joint center at Seojaegon Linker Hospital, said, “Acromioclavicular arthritis can occur at the same time due to trauma, fitness, moving, or uncomfortable sleeping habits, such as rotator cuff tear and subscapularis tear. They often waste time and effort,” he said. “You must be examined and examined, and because they are similar to shoulder symptoms caused by other causes, accurate diagnosis is the most important for treatment.”
If the symptoms of arthritis are not severe, medication, injection therapy, physical therapy, lifestyle improvement (avoid sleeping on your side, use a cushioned bed, do not work with your arms raised for a long time, scapula pain when lifting your arms high) It can be improved with conservative treatment such as limiting excessive exercise of the patient. Surgical treatment is performed when dislocation and deformation due to trauma are severe, when fractures are accompanied, and in the case of acromioclavicular arthritis, when degenerative changes are severe, when there is no response to consistent conservative treatment for more than 3 months, and young patients who enjoy exercising However, it is considered to implement it to those with labor intensity. With the arthroscopic method, acromioclavicular joint resection arthroplasty is performed with minimal incision, and it is possible to return to daily life immediately following surgery without the need to wear braces.
Reporter Kim Junsu of Medical Today ([email protected])
[저작권자ⓒ 메디컬투데이. 무단전재-재배포 금지]