Neural Modulation of Hemiparetic Shoulder Pain by Repetitive Ultrasound-Guided Suprascapularis Nerve

Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: Neural blockade is widely used in clinical practice to alleviate acute or chronic pain, including pain dur-ing rehabilitation. To date there is little controlled evidence to confirm the efficacy of nerve blocks in hemiparetic shoulder pain after stroke. Design: This study is a prospective, open label, cohort trial reporting result from a cohort of stroke patients affected by shoulder pain. Aim: As a cohort study report, in which it is often firstly reported the pos-sibility of an association between an observed effect and a specific environmental based on detailed clinical evaluations and histories, we aim to firstly provide clues in identifying Suprascapularis Nerve blockade as further valuable approach for shoulder pain after stroke. Population: We studied a cohort of patients affected by hemiparetic shoulder pain after Stroke. Methods: Our protocol foresees nerve blocks to be performed each 3 out of 4 days (treatment lasting 30 days) in conjunction with a rehabilitation program with the first aim to provide the window of opportunity to proceed with effective rehabilitation. 47 potential study subjects fulfilled the study criteria and were enrolled. Twenty-four subjects were randomised to the study Group to receive SSNB for the pain of their hemiparetic shoulder while 23 subjects ran-domized to the control Group whose member did not receive SSNB. They received serial blocks each 3 out of 4 day