Test-retest reliability of movement-evoked pain and sensitivity to movement-evoked pain in patients with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain.
Sizhong Wang, Ramakrishnan Mani, Jiaxu Zeng and 2 others
PMID 37633094WHAT IT FOUND
A score meant to capture increasing pain across lifts was not stable in 74 people with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain.
Pain and range of motion during repeated shoulder lifts were stable enough to use.
Key findings
01The sensitivity to movement-evoked pain index was not reliable at either the onset of pain or maximum range of motion.
02Pain intensity and range of motion during repeated shoulder abduction were reliable at both the onset of pain and maximum range of motion.
03The smallest change that could be considered real for pain intensity was 1.6 points on the 0 to 10 scale, and for range of motion it was 17.5 degrees at onset of pain and 11.2 degrees at maximum range of motion.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
This study tested whether measurements were stable, not whether treatment changed outcomes. Only people with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain were included, so this does not tell you about frozen shoulder or other shoulder disorders. Most participants had long-standing pain, with a median duration of 12 months, so reliability in acute shoulder pain is unknown. The same physical therapist did both tests, so this does not show whether different clinicians would get the same results. Participants lifted their arm at their own pace in the frontal plane, not during their preferred functional tasks, which may affect pain summation. The sensitivity to movement-evoked pain index was calculated by subtracting the mean pain ratings of the first two lifts from the mean pain ratings of the last two lifts of five trials, and no standard method existed.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that repeated shoulder lifts can reliably measure increasing pain across trials. The pain and range of motion measures were stable, but the sensitivity to movement-evoked pain index was not.