There is a particular type of shoulder arthritis that has a unique constellation of abnormal features and associated deformity that becomes worse with time. This type of shoulder arthritis is relatively common but challenging to treat. Conventional anatomic shoulder replacements tend to fail early in patients with this type of arthritis. The cause of this particular type of arthritis is poorly understood.

Associate Professor Raniga and his colleagues are the first to do a 3D analysis of all the key muscles around the shoulder of patients with this type of arthritis to understand if a  muscle imbalance leads to the development of shoulder arthritis. This work will not only improve our understanding of why shoulder arthritis occurs but potentially allow better non-operative and operative management of shoulder arthritis.