Shoulder Pain after Recent Stroke (SPARS): Hemiplegic shoulder pain incidence within 72 hours post-stroke and 8-10 week follow-up (NCT 02574000)

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to identify very early incidence of hemiplegic shoulder pain within 72 hours (HSP), how clinical assessment was related to pain at 8-10 week follow-up and explore current standard therapy/management. Design Observational, prospective. Setting Teaching Hospital hyper-acute and follow-up stroke services. Participants 121 consecutive patients with confirmed cerebral infarct/haemorrhage recruited within 72 hours of stroke onset Interventions N/A Main Outcome Measures Subjective report of pain severity and aggravating factors: using numerical rating scales and pain questionnaire (ShoulderQ), shoulder abductor and flexor muscle strength (Oxford MRC Scale), Neer’s Test of sub-acromial pain, shoulder subluxation and soft tissue shoulder palpation. Results At initial assessment ( Conclusion This study reports HSP at an earlier time point after stroke than previous publications. Patients with severe arm weakness and/or shoulder subluxation within 72 hours are at significantly higher risk of HSP at 8-10 weeks. These data highlight the high incidence of HSP, the non-standardized therapy approach, and can inform sample size calculations for future intervention studies. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02574000 (clinicaltrials.gov)