Prevalence of Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain in Post-stroke Patients – A Hospital Based Study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To study the prevalence of hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) and its association with other factors like age, sex, side of paralysis, type of brain lesion, muscle tone, degree of functional recovery in upper limb and glenohumeral subluxation (GHS). Methodology Prospective study based on all the hemiplegic 140 patients admitted in the physical medicine and rehabilitation ward in two consecutive years. Tools Assessment of HSP was done by using a structured questionnaire known as “Shoulder Q”. Modified Ashworth scale (MAS) was used for spasticity assessment and functional independence measure (FIM) to document the severity of disability. Follow-up at intervals of 1, 3 and 6 months from the date of discharge for all cases were attempted and even cases with at least one follow-up around 3 months were also included in the study. Analysis was done on 109 patients as 31 patients lost to follow-up. Results Out of the 109 patients, 61.5% were males with a mean age of 58.9 ± 10.9 years. Cerebral infarct represents 53.2% of patients. HSP was present in 47.7% (n= 52) of patients. The prevalence of HSP on left and right sides was comparable though involvement was more on the left side (58.8%). Glenohumeral subluxation was present in 32.7% (n=17) of 52 cases with HSP and 33.3% (n=19) of 57 cases without HSP. Mean FIM score at admission for patients with HSP was 54.5 ± 17.6 and 56.6 ± 19.5 among cases without HSP. Again, mean FIM scores at last follow-up were 80.0 ± 16.4 and 79.9 ± 18.9 respectively for both cases with HSP and without it. Among the compliers, patients with tone more than MAS=1 were more likely to develop HSP. Conclusion Prevalence rate of HSP among post-stroke hemiplegic patients admitted during two years was 47.7%. There was no association of HSP with factors like age, sex, side of paralysis, type of lesion and GHS. Correlation between HSP and muscle tone or degree of functional recovery was significant.