Ultrasound-guided interventions for painful shoulder: from anatomy to evidence

Abstract

Ke-Vin Chang,1,2 Kamal Mezian,3 Ondřej Naňka,4 Wei-Ting Wu,1 Chih-Peng Lin,5,6 Levent Özçakar7 1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Bei-Hu Branch, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic; 4Institute of Anatomy, Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic; 5Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 6Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; 7Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Hacettepe University Medical School, Ankara, Turkey Abstract: Shoulder pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder of variable etiology, ranging from rotator cuff pathology to peripheral nerve entrapment. Advances in ultrasound (US) technology have allowed static and dynamic evaluation of shoulder problems and most importantly, offer real-time, radiation-free guidance for interventions. The present review aims to describe shoulder anatomy in detail using information from cadaveric models and to illustrate US-guided techniques using clearly labeled figures and videos. The review will also present evidence of specific US-guided therapies for shoulder pain by summarizing landmark studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. The following shoulder structures will be covered: 1) the biceps long head tendon, 2) the acromioclavicular joint, 3) the subacromial–subdeltoid bursa, 4) the glenohumeral joint, 5) the suprascapular nerve, and 6) the axillary nerve. Keywords: pain, sonography, tendon, joint, injection, rehabilitation

Keywords

• pain
• sonography
• tendon
• joint
• injection
• rehabilitation