Osteodensitometry as a method of early diagnosis of pathology of paraarticular tissues of the shoulder joint

Abstract

Despite the significant prevalence of shoulder-scapular periarthrosis, methods of its early diagnosis remain insufficiently developed. The study aims to clarify the possibility of using osteodensitometry for early diagnosis of shoulder-scapular periarthrosis. We examined 70 men (the main group) with a diagnosis of shoulder-scapular periarthrosis without disorders of the function of the shoulder joints, which corresponded to the initial stage of the disease. The comparison group consisted of 78 patients with diagnosed osteoarthritis of the shoulder joints with moderate recurrent algic syndrome without limitation of the volume of movements; the control group consisted of 112 practically healthy men. The age of all examined men were 30-50 years. In addition to clinical and functional examination with neuro-orthopedic examination and radiography of the shoulder joints, the researchers conducted the mineral density of the bone tissue of the head of the humerus according to the results of digital radiography with a wedge-standard density. This method has a high accuracy in determining the mineral density of bone tissue, does not have an additional load and allows you to get the desired information. In the examined main group, in the absence of bone changes on the shoulder joint radiographs, experts have identified a significant decrease in the mineral density index in all zones of the upper sector, maximally expressed in the lateral zone of the humerus head in relation to the results of the control group. Patients in the comparison group also showed a significant decrease in this indicator in relation to the indicator of the control group. The decrease in bone mineral density in patients with osteoarthritis exceeded the decrease in similar indicators in individuals with shoulder-scapular periarthritis, however, there was no significant difference in these cases. The obtained results of the study allow us to conclude that the applied osteodensitometry makes it possible to detect a local decrease in bone mineral density in articular structures at the early stages of their formation, resulting from damage to the soft tissues of paraarticular structures, due to the unity of the response of the ligamentous-articular apparatus. Ethics. This study did not require the conclusion of the Ethics Committee.