Patient/caregiver was instructed regarding support to the shoulder joint as follows:
- The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint, in which the ball of the joint is formed by the round head of humerus. The socket is a hollow in the scapula or shoulder blade, which is called glenoid. The head of humerus sitting inside the hollow glenoid adds some stability to the shoulder joint.
- Various connective tissue bands, such as, ligaments and tendons, add more stability and reinforce the shoulder joint in the body.
- Ligament is a tissue structure connecting two bones. Tendon is a tissue structure connecting a muscle to a bone.
- A special type of ligament, labrum, attaches along the edge of glenoid socket, which increases the depth of the socket. This helps with the head of humerus sitting in the glenoid more firmly, thus increasing the stability of the joint.
- The shoulder joint is enclosed in or surrounded by a joint capsule, which is known as a synovium. This joint capsule is a watertight sac surrounding the shoulder joint, formed by the strong ligaments of the shoulder joint.
- The strong ligaments of the shoulder joint help to hold the head of humerus in the glenoid socket tightly and contribute to the stability of the shoulder joint significantly.
- Ligaments also help attaching the clavicle to the scapula and help reinforce stability to the shoulder joint.
- Also, the shoulder joint is surrounded by large, thick muscles of upper arm on all sides, such as, rotator cuff muscles and deltoid muscle. These big muscles upon contraction and relaxation contribute to the activity and respective movements of the shoulder joint. These big muscles along with their tendons attach firmly around the shoulder joint, thus furthering the stability of the joint.
