Rotator cuff arthropathy

It is a combination of arthritis and rotator cuff tears.  This is a severe and complex form of shoulder arthritis in which the shoulder has lost not only the cartilage that normally covers its joint surface but also the tendons of the rotator cuff tear which help position and power the joint. When the injury goes vast, the gap between the head of humerus and the acromion decreases.
 

Symptoms：

Too painful to raise arms
Grating sounds when moving shoulder
Loss of motion, possible to raise arms with some assistance, but difficult to do this without any help
 

Diagnosis：

X-ray, Ultra-sound and MRI can show deformed glenoid labrum and the head of humerus
 

Treatment：

Injection of steroid or hyaluronic acid in the shoulder joint for releasing pain
Physical therapies are effective to release pain for rotator cuff tear injuries
 

Surgical options in case of failure in conservative treatments:

Arthroscopic Synovectomy: Removing a part of the synovium
Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: It removes the head of humerus and attaches a plastic socket, and a liner/baseplate to the remaining bone. It also removes part of the socket of the shoulder blade and replace it with a metal ball, glenosphere. For more details, please see “Shoulder replacement surgery”.