Management of painful reverse shoulder arthroplasty

Even though reverse shoulder arthroplasty is a very successful procedure, painful complications occur. During the initial postoperative years, the most common reasons for pain are instability, postoperative fracture of the acromion or spine, and periprosthetic infection. Later, aseptic loosening, with humeral loosening being more frequent that glenoid loosening, can be a source of pain and reduction in function. A careful patient history, clinical examination, plain radiographs, computed tomography and blood tests give an explanation for the pain in most cases. The majority of these complications can be successfully treated, maintaining a functional reverse shoulder arthroplasty. However, if all examinations are normal, it is important to remember that nonshoulder conditions such as tumour of the lung or degenerative changes of the cervical spine can give shoulder pain.