The aim of this study was to assess the severity of pain and its correlations to clinical characteristics in Painful Shoulder Syndrome (PSS) patients. A descriptive study was conducted using retrospective data from 77 medical record files. The Visual Numerical Scale (VNS) was used as an assessment instrument. The following variables of interest were considered: VNS (77), diagnosis (57), affected shoulder (77), sex (77), age (76), pain site (77), use of medications (59) and associated cervical pain (77). 53.2% of the patients were females and the mean age was 50.4±15.7 years. The right shoulder was the most affected side (57.1%). Severe pain was reported by 41.6% of patients, more frequently in women (56.1% vs 25.0%; p=0.006), and on left shoulder (57.7% vs 31.8%, p=0.034). Of the studied patients, 59 (81.3%) used medications, most frequently anti-inflammatory drugs. The rotator cuff syndrome was present in 80.7% (57) and associated cervical pain in 15.6% (77). Pain exclusively on the shoulder accounted for 76.5%. The rotator cuff syndrome was shown to be the most frequent cause of PSS, more commonly and severely affecting women close to 51 years old. EVN was shown to be a relevant instrument for measuring pain in PSS.
Shoulder pain; Tendonopathy; Rotator cuff
