Shoulder problems after spinal cord injury. Part one: self-assessment by questionnaires.
Ellen Andreasson, Jörgen Söverstad, Inka Löfvenmark
PMID 41216655WHAT IT FOUND
54 of 100 people with spinal cord injury reported shoulder pain after injury, and 34 reported pain in the last week.
Pain was common across injury levels and among wheelchair users and ambulatory people.
Key findings
0154 participants had experienced shoulder pain at any time after spinal cord injury, and 34 participants reported shoulder pain during the last week.
02There were no significant differences between participants with or without shoulder pain after injury for sex, age, time since injury, injury level or completeness, cause of injury, body mass index, physical activity, or living circumstances, except that wheelchair users had more bilateral shoulder pain than ambulatory participants.
03Among 34 participants with pain in the last week, 18 reported pain 7 days per week and average pain intensity was 4.5/10, but ratings of effect on daily activities, mood, and sleep did not differ significantly by injury group or wheelchair use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
This paper reports only questionnaire results; clinical and ultrasound findings are planned for later parts, so it does not identify structural shoulder causes. It is a self-report survey of 100 people at one Stockholm clinic, so it cannot prove why pain occurs or whether prevention strategies caused any change. Many subgroups were small, especially people with more extensive tetraplegia. Because 51 of 100 participants had AIS D injury, some comparisons were unreliable. 78 eligible people did not participate, and background data were available for only 51 of them; 13 of those had missing shoulder pain data. Treatments were not assigned or measured in a way that can show effectiveness; many participants used several pain strategies at once. Physical activity answers were hard to interpret, and 80% said they were physically active despite uncertain activity levels.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that wheelchair use, injury level, sex, or age no longer matter for shoulder pain. The survey found no significant differences in most groups, but small subgroups and self-report mean it cannot rule out real differences.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →