Shoulder pain in hemiplegia: statistical relationship with five variables.

The incidence of shoulder pain and the statistical relationship between it and five other variables (patient age, time since onset of hemiplegia, range of hemiplegic shoulder external rotation, spasticity and weakness) were investigated retrospectively. Of 50 consecutive hemiplegic patients whose records were reviewed, 36 had shoulder pain. The variables significantly (p less than 0.01) correlated with shoulder pain were: time since onset of hemiplegia (r = 0.45) and ROSER (r = -0.61). The relationship between shoulder pain and range of shoulder motion remained significant when other factors were partialled out. The relationship between shoulder pain and time since onset was not significant when the affect of range of shoulder motion was partialled out. Therefore, range of shoulder external rotation was considered the factor related most significantly to shoulder pain. This finding suggests that shoulder pain demonstrated by hemiplegia patients may be, in part, a manifestation of adhesive capsulitis.