title: Clinical and radiographic evaluation of the shoulder of spinal cord injured patients undergoing rehabilitation program.
abstract: METHODS
  Clinical and radiographic evaluation of the shoulders of tetraplegic and paraplegic patients who attend rehabilitation program.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study is to establish the usefulness of radiography as a trial exam for shoulder pain in spinal cord injured patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital das Clinicas-UNICAMP. Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-two shoulders of 16 patients were evaluated by clinical exam and radiography. Patients were divided into two groups: paraplegic and tetraplegic. A control group of 16 normal volunteer subjects was selected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Shoulder pain was reported in 88.89% of tetraplegic and 42.85% of paraplegic. The time of injury ranged from 1.5-22 years (mean 7.88 years); patients had a mean age of 34.68 years (range, 21-57 years). The acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) space ranged from 0.03-0.7 cm on the right side and 0.15-0.7 cm on the left side, with a mean of 0.37 and 0.41 cm, respectively. No correlation was found between shoulder pain and gender, age or time since injury. There was a trend to correlation between shoulder pain and type of injury with tetraplegic having a tendency to pain symptoms. On average, tetraplegic had smaller ACJ.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The small number of patients in this study did not allow us to confirm the hypothesis that X-ray finding may indicate risk for shoulder pain in spinal cord injury patients. A work with a greater number of subjects could demonstrate association between shoulder pain and the reduced acromioclavicular distance, making plain radiography a trial exam for spinal cord-injured patients.
authors: Department of Orthopaedic and Traumatology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, State University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil. giovanna@fcm.unicamp.br
authors: G I S
authors: GI
authors: Medina
authors: F B
authors: FB
authors: Nascimento
authors: C M
authors: CM
authors: Rimkus
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Zoppi Filho
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Cliquet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015897:Comorbidity / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010243:Paralysis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D011859:Radiography; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult