If you have suffered a shoulder injury, you have likely hurt your shoulder ligament. The ligaments of the shoulder help to hold the humerus in the socket, and to provide stability to the joint. The shoulder joint capsule is sometimes hurt in sports, particularly with dislocations and shoulder sprains. Here we’ll look closer at shoulder anatomy, targeting on the ligaments and joint capsule.
Shoulder Ligaments vs. Joint Capsule The shoulder joint capsule is a band of connective tissues that encompasses the head of the humerus.
It helps to hold the humerus in the glenoid ( socket ) when the shoulder is at rest. While many of us think about these tissues connecting our skeletal matter, the joint capsule plays a crucial role in this function as well.
Not like the knee, which has ligaments that are individual bands of tissue, the deltoid has thickenings in places of the joint capsule that are referred to as ligaments. Let me explain…
The shoulder ligaments aren’t seperate from the joint capsule. In reality, they are not really ligaments at all, in the way you suspect about ligaments like the ACL or PCL in the knee. They’re simply areas of tissue that are thicker than the other portions of the capsule. So, your physician may refer to the shoulder ligaments as a part of the capsule, or as ligaments, but they mean a similar thing.
The Glenohumeral Shoulder Ligaments: The shoulder has three different areas of thickening in the capsule, which can be referred to as ligaments. These are the anterior glenohumeral ligament, inferior glenohumeral ligament, and posterior glenohumeral ligament. The ligaments provide stability to the joint, and help to restict disproportionate joint motion. Notice in the picture the way in which the inferior ligament ( or capsule ) appears to hang down from the humerus. This is significant as we discuss shoulder function.
Anterior Shoulder Ligaments Anterior Glenohumeral Ligament – sporting injury Data The anterior shoulder capsule helps to prohibit forward motion of the humerus. It also helps to limit external revolution. As will all ligaments and joint capsules, the shoulder ligaments all become tight with different motions. The anterior capsule becomes tight when the shoulder is flexed above ninety degrees, or when it is externally revolved. The anterior glenohumeral ligament is the tissue that’s wounded with 95% of all shoulder dislocations.
When the shoulder dislocates, it always comes forward and down. This stretches and tears the anterior part of the joint capsule, and the anterior glenohumeral ligament. The commonest position for shoulder dislocation is when the arm is out to the side, above shoulder level, and the elbow bent to ninety degrees. In this position, the anterior capsule and ligament is tight…forced motion in this position will noticeably stress the capsule, and may cause damage.
Inferior Shoulder Ligaments Inferior Glenohumeral Ligament – sporting injury Information The inferior glenohumeral ligament is a redundency of the shoulder capsule. In the picture you can see how it hangs down from the humerus…almost like there’s too much tissue there. This is not the case. You see, when the shoulder moves, the capsule must be in a position to stretch and evolve.
If the inferior capsule wasn’t hanging down, you would not be ready to raise your arm over your head. When the arm is raised above shoulder level, the inferior capsule starts to tighten. The inferior capsule isn’t often wounded during sports…however, it can become unacceptably tight if the arm is immobilized for a long-lasting period. Ever heard about frozen shoulder? This is the part of the capsule that frequently tightens down and causes frozen shoulder.
Posterior Shoulder Ligaments Posterior Glenohumeral Shoulder Ligament – sporting injury Information .
The posterior shoulder ligament, aids in keeping too much rotation on the inside of the deltoid muscle. It can develop problems from becoming overly compressed, however, it’s not usually prone to the more blunt type of sports injuries. As an example, baseball pitchers many times get a tightening of this structure due to their profession. This can then lead to various impingement problems.
Overal the shoulder ligament has a crucial position in the body to provide stability and performance. Both by moving via flexion and also by a stopping mechanism to avoid overexertion and pain.