Normal and Impaired Mobility of the Glenohumeral Joint: Anatomical, biomechanical alld clillical aspects

In the field of orthopaedics, extensive knowledge exists on the diagnosis and treatment of skeletal diseases, e.g. developmental anomalies, fractures and osteoarthritis. Less knowledge is available on soft tissue diseases. The main reason for this difference of knowledge concerns the imaging techniques. First, the introduction of clinical radiography at the end of the last century made it possible to obtain images of the human skeleton ill vivo. However, the technique was unsuitable for the soft tissues. About 80 years later. imaging of soft tissue structures ill vivo with satisfactory image resolution became possible after the introduction of sonography and magnetic resonance imaging. A second rcason for the difference in knowledge is that load transfer in bone is easier comprehensible than in soft tissue. Certain soft tissue regions of the body have been studied in more detail than others. Compared to the knee joint, less clinical and experimental knowledge is available on the role of the articular soft tissues in normal and pathological movement of the glenohumeral joint (GIll). This has two reasons. First, the GIl] joint is relatively difficult to access at clinical examination. Second, assessment of GHJ motion is relatively difficult because of the multiple degrees of freedom of motion due to the large number of shoulder girdle joints.