"Deep" Arthritis

Hi All,

I had a patient report to me that he was diagnosed some years ago with "Deep Arthritis" in both shoulders - he could not clarify beyond this description and apparently had been advised that there was no medical/surgical intervention available. On examination he is exhibiting signs of rotator cuff pathology.

I was just wondering if anyone else has come across "Deep Arthritis" before and could give me an insight in to what it might actually represent?

Thanks & regards,
Ray

Hi,
I expect that the patient was given this diagnosis by a practitioner outside of the conventional medical model, or that a more specific term was used by a medical person and then a descriptive lay term the patient could more easily understand was added (obviously did not work!). It would not be the first time a patient muddled information provided by a therapist.

I do not believe that a search of the literature would be useful to define the term, as it is likely to be an umbrella term without specificity. Many conditions could be referred to inaccurately as a 'deep arthritis'. It would be best to accept the most recent assessment findings, and re educate the patient once the assessment is confirmed.

Loose diagnostic terminology can be used by psuedo trained 'therapists' to mislead a patient or to cover their own lack of knowledge.
Hope this helps.
MrPhysio

Thanks MrPhysio - unfortunately in this instance the person making the "diagnosis" was an Orthopaedic Surgeon... So whether the actual diagnosis was ever revealed to the patient is something I'll likely never know (the patient is fairly adamant that there was no further info). But worth a shot...

Cheers,
Ray