Rossi, Luciano A

» The glenohumeral (GH) joint ranks third on the list of the large joints that are most commonly affected by osteoarthritis, after the knee and the hip. » General nonsurgical modalities, including changes in daily activities, physical therapy, pharmacotherapy, and corticosteroid injections, constitute the mainstay of treatment. Most of these options, however, have shown moderate and short-term effectiveness. » Arthroplasty techniques have proven to be successful for elderly patients. Nevertheless, replacement options are not optimal for younger patients because their functional demands are higher and prostheses have a finite life span. » This has led to the search for new nonoperative treatment options to target this subgroup of patients. It has been suggested that orthobiologic therapies, including platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and cell therapies, present great promise and opportunity for the treatment of GH osteoarthritis. » Despite the promising results that have been shown by cell therapies and PRP for treating degenerative joint conditions, additional studies are needed to provide more definitive conclusions.