= new reply since forum marked as read
in this era big advances are being made. Can't begin to know what we need to.
Speaking of arthritis and joint replacements, my husband will have a whole new right shoulder joint by this time next week, 80 years old but scheduled as a routine outpatient surgery, admit to Orthopedic Surgery and home the same day.
Age of miracles. I doubt major joint replacements make the list of the top 100 even if they are replacing a year to several years of accelerating decline with potential additional decades of active living.
I had it just before the hospital stopped doing elective surgeries altogether.
As for the shoulder, many years back I had arthroscopic surgery for calcifying tendinitis — a chunk about the size of a quarter was grinding on my rotator cuff. The pain had gotten to the point it was just kind of breathtaking, and the improvement in my life was enormous afterward.
Joints are funny things — you take them for granted until they grind to a halt. Best of luck to you and your husband. 
I have great hope now that medication will keep my hands in good shape as long as I need them. I'm on old cheap drugs, antique but not yet obsolete miracles, including Individual One's hydroxychloroquine, but my doctor has a list of new miracle drugs that insurance will cover if they don't work as well as they should.
Go gluten free for a month or longer. I went on a Keto Diet for a few months, and while it was a little too restricted (no rice, potatoes, legumes, fruit, etc.), the one big change I noticed is that all my joint/muscular pain vanished. For me it was knees, hips, shoulders, back, neck, head.
I think it has something to do with inflammation. So you don't have to do Keto, but just give up gluten (pasta, bread, crackers, soy sauce, ketchup, etc.) and see if that helps. I found the difference pretty amazing. Good luck!