Early postoperative pain as a risk factor of shoulder stiffness after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

• Published in: Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology 2021-12, Vol.22 (1), p.25-25, Article 25
• Main Authors: Guity, Mohammad Reza, Sobhani Eraghi, Amir, Hosseini-Baharanchi, Fatemeh Sadat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arthroscopy; Bone surgery; Conservative Orthopedics; Diabetes mellitus; Evaluation; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Multivariate analysis; Original; Original Article; Orthopedics; Pain; Postoperative period; Rheumatology; Risk analysis; Risk factor; Risk factors; Rotator cuff; Rotator cuff tear; Shoulder; Sports Medicine; Stiffness; Surgery; Surgical Orthopedics; Tendons; Traumatic Surgery
• ISSN: 1590-9921; 1590-9999
• DOI: 10.1186/s10195-021-00585-9

Background The role of postoperative pain in incidence of shoulder stiffness (SS) after shoulder arthroscopy has not been thoroughly investigated. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of early postoperative pain (EPOP) on onset of SS after arthroscopic rotator cuff (RC) repair. Materials and methods In a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database, 335 patients who underwent arthroscopic RC repair were evaluated. RC tendons were sutured to the bone using the double-row technique. EPOP was evaluated 1 week after surgery using the visual analog scale (VAS). SS was assessed 3 months after surgery and was categorized into moderate or severe based on shoulder range of motion (ROM). Each type of complication including SS was identified and recorded. Results Postoperative shoulder stiffness (POSS) was identified in 121 patients (36.2%) that was moderate in 86 patients (70.1%) and severe in 35 patients (28.9%). After 1 week, VAS pain score was equal to 7.7 ± 3.1 and 4.5 ± 2.1 in the patients with and without stiffness, respectively ( p