Differences in cervical mobility and pain sensitivity between patients with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain and asymptomatic subjects: a cross-sectional study.
Néstor Requejo-Salinas, Rubén Fernández-Matías, Javier Gordo Herrera and 3 others
PMID 40356876WHAT IT FOUND
Patients with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain showed lower neck pain thresholds on both sides and reduced neck rotation toward the painful shoulder compared to healthy controls.
Neck strength did not differ. These associations do not prove the neck causes the shoulder pain.
Key findings
01Patients with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain had significantly lower pressure pain thresholds in the neck on both the affected and unaffected sides compared to asymptomatic controls.
02There was a significant reduction in neck active rotation toward the affected shoulder in the pain group, but no differences in other neck range of motion measures or neck muscle strength.
03Within the pain group, specific neck movements were associated with shoulder pain and disability scores, though the authors noted these associations were modest.
STILL TO COME
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What it does not show
Assessors were not blinded to participant status, which could introduce bias. The cross-sectional design cannot determine if neck impairments cause shoulder pain, result from it, or are unrelated. Physical activity levels were not measured, which could influence pain sensitivity. The study excluded people with current neck pain, so results may not apply to patients with concurrent neck and shoulder issues. Associations between neck mobility and shoulder symptoms were modest and should be interpreted with caution.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest and stated that the research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the reduced neck rotation and lower pain thresholds as proof that the cervical spine is the source of the shoulder pain. The study is cross-sectional, so these differences could be a consequence of the shoulder pain or a protective mechanism, not necessarily the cause.