The shoulder girdle in ankylosing spondylitis.

We report the clinical findings in the shoulders of fifty-two patients who had ankylosing spondylitis. The three major patterns that were found included limitation of scapulothoracic motion (forty-one patients), acute inflammatory arthropathy of the sternoclavicular or acromioclavicular joint (six patients), and severe restriction of glenohumeral motion (five patients). Although radiographic abnormalities were common, they correlated with the clinical findings in only minor respects.