Less Pain, but no changes in maximal inclination angles during an overhead reach task following local anesthetic in patients with ongoing shoulder pain

• Published in: Journal of electromyography and kinesiology 2024-12, Vol.79, p.102932, Article 102932
• Main Authors: D’hondt, N.E., Leenen, A.J.R., Kiers, H., Hoozemans, M.J.M., Alta, T.D., van den Bekerom, M.P.J., van de Borne, M.P.J., van der List, M.P.J., Veeger, H.E.J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Anesthetics, Local - administration & dosage; Biomechanical Phenomena; Female; Humans; Humeroscapular kinematics; Lidocaine - administration & dosage; Local anesthesia; Male; Middle Aged; Movement - physiology; Pain Measurement - methods; Pain reduction; Range of Motion, Articular - physiology; Shoulder girdle; Shoulder Pain - physiopathology; Trunk inclination angles
• ISSN: 1050-6411; 1873-5711; 1873-5711
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2024.102932

This multicenter observational study aimed to assess how pain reduction, induced by local anesthesia, affects the relative angular contributions of the shoulder girdle and trunk to the maximal angular performance during a semi-constrained overhead reach task in patients with ongoing shoulder pain. Twenty-nine individuals (age 59.0 SD 12.8 years;16-male) with symptomatic shoulders were administered corticosteroid and lidocaine injections by their attending orthopedic surgeon. Immediately before and after the injections, participants reached for a target on the ceiling ten times as high as possible while their pain levels, shoulder, and trunk movements were recorded. The analysis revealed that there was a significant reduction in pain following the injections. However, there were no significant differences in maximum shoulder and trunk inclination angles between the pre- and post-injection conditions. Notably, there were slight but statistically significant alterations in humeroscapular kinematics during the initial phase of arm elevation following the injections. In conclusion, acute pain relief following local anesthetics is not associated with immediate alterations in maximum shoulder girdle and trunk inclination angles during a semi-constrained overhead reach task in patients with ongoing shoulder pain. However, there are signs of small alterations in humeroscapular kinematics during the initial phase of arm elevation.