Comparing neuromodulation modalities involving the suprascapular nerve in chronic refractory shoulder pain: retrospective case series and literature review

Abstract

Chronic shoulder pain not relieved by either conservative or surgical management is referred to as chronic refractory shoulder pain. This is a retrospective case series where chronic refractory shoulder pain patients were treated either with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) or with pulsed radiofrequency (p-RF) therapy to the suprascapular nerve. Both patients receiving PNS reported 100% pain relief for the first month. At the 3- and 6-month follow-ups, one patient continued to experience 100% relief while the other reported 90% relief. One patient undergoing p-RF experienced about 90% pain relief at both 1- and 3-month intervals and 0% relief at the 6-month interval. The other patient with p-RF experienced 33% relief at 1-month and 0% relief thereafter. No patient reported any complications. The results of previous randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of p-RF administered to the suprascapular nerve were mixed, and there is a lack of published studies on PNS effects. Neuromodulation of the suprascapular nerve can be effective for chronic refractory shoulder pain patients. Larger scale randomized controlled trials comparing PNS and p-RF are needed to better understand their respective therapeutic capacity.