Wheelchair user's shoulder? Shoulder pain in patients with spinal cord lesions

A questionnaire was circulated to the 708 members of the Spinal Cord Injuries Association in 1976. The response rate was 79.5%. Over one half (51.4%) of the respondents suffered from shoulder pain, an incidence in excess of any age group in a control population derived from a general practitioner's register. The pain, which was related particularly to wheelchair usage and other attendant factors such as transfers, was in some instances clearly in the shoulder, whereas in others it was more likely to be cervical root pain. The implication of these findings are discussed.