Degree of pain and grade of subluxation in the painful hemiplegic shoulder.

Forty-eight stroke patients with shoulder pain were assessed for degree of pain at rest and on movement of the affected arm, and presence and grade of subluxation. Degree of pain was assessed using a 6-point verbal rating scale. Presence and grade of subluxation were assessed from radiographs, using a 5-point categorization. Four radiographs were excluded. Subluxation was found in 24 (54.5%) of the remaining 44 radiographs. No statistically significant difference was found in degree of pain between patients with and without subluxation. In addition, no correlation was found between grade of subluxation and degree of pain. It is suggested that the role of subluxation in the production of pain may not be as important as often believed.