Effect of Minimally Invasive Pain Intervention in Frozen Shoulder Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulder (FS) is the second most common disorder accounts for 15%-30% shoulder pain and functional disability. Suprascapular nerve (SSN) interventions with corticosteroid alone have shown limited duration efficacy, adding pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) provides long-term relief.

We aimed to analyze the efficacy of SSN intervention on pain relief and range of mobility in patients with FS.

This is a cross-sectional study of 37 patients of FS who underwent SSN interventions in a dedicated pain medicine unit of the department of anesthesiology.

Thirty-seven patients, who underwent SSN interventions for FS and followed for 6 months, were included in this study. Pain (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]), range of motion (ROM) (17), and Oxford 12 point Shoulder Score (OSS) for functional outcomes were recorded. In the final analysis, two subsets of patients who underwent SSN steroid injection or SSN PRF plus steroid were found and compared using Student's t-test paired and independent with P < 0.05 considered significant at 95% confidence interval.

The patient population was demographically comparable. Mean VAS score and ROM improved at 1, 3, and 6 months to statistically significant. On comparing the subgroups, the VAS score and OSS in both the SI and PRF groups were significantly improved, but the PRF group showed highly significant improvement, showing better and sustained improvement in the PRF group.

PRF with steroid injection of the SSN provides better and long-lasting relief from pain and improved mobility in FS patients in comparison to steroid alone.