Utility of Pain Mapping in Shoulder Disorders

Abstract

Background The most common causes of shoulder pain are rotator cuff disorder, acromioclavicular joint disorder and glenohumeral joint disorder. Use of pain map for specific disorder has been described for back and hip pain. We conducted a study to assess the pain pattern in common shoulder pathologies. Aims and objectives The aim of present study was to evaluate shoulder mapping as a diagnostic tool in common shoulder disorders. Material and Methods This is a prospective hospital based cross-sectional study. Patients presenting with pain, swelling or stiffness with no history of trauma to shoulder in preceding three months were included in the study. Clinical diagnosis was made by first investigator and pain mapping was done by second investigator. Pain distribution, severity and type of pain were correlated with clinical diagnosis to ascertain relation of a particular disorder with pain pattern. Results Out of 783 patients with neck and upper back pain, 130 patients were included in the study. Age of patients ranged between 23-69 years (51.36 + 11.86 years). A predominance of females was observed. The commonest cause of shoulder pain was Periarthritis (43.1%) followed by SA impingement (13.8%), rotator cuff disorders (13.1%), GH arthritis (10.0%), AC arthritis (8.5%) and miscellaneous causes (myalgia and unclear diagnosis). Maximum pain score was found for glenohumeral arthritis (8.46 + 0.52) followed by acute rotator cuff injury (8.41 + 0.51) and minimum pain score was for AC arthritis (6.0 + 0.00). Conclusions Pain mapping of shoulder disorders does not show any distinct advantage over clinical examination.