Bupivacaine or Radiofrequency for Shoulder Pain

Comparative Study Between Pulsed Radiofrequency in Suprascapular Nerve or Bupivacaine Block for Chronic Shoulder Pain

Comparative study between pulsed radiofrequency in suprascapular nerve or bupivacaine block for chronic shoulder pain

Prospective, randomized, comparative study of 40 participants with chronic shoulder pain allocated into two groups. Patients in group 1 underwent pulsed RF (180sec, with a fixed temperature at 42C, twice) on the suprascapular nerve, and the other group, 2, underwent nerve block with bupivacaine (5ml). After the procedure, patients were evaluated for 3 months regarding pain intensity, shoulder range of motion and dose of rescue opioids.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age over 18 years old
• Chronic shoulder pain (more than 3 months)
• Clinical and imaging diagnosis: rotator cuff injury, adhesive capsulitis, supraspinatus, tendinopathy, bicipital tendinitis, impingement syndrome, subscapularis tendinopathy, , subacromial and subdeltoid arthrosis, acromioclavicular arthrosis, subdeltoid subacromial bursitis
• Pain intensity ≥4 on movement, on a numerical scale from zero to 10 (where zero means no pain and 10 the most intense pain imaginable).

Exclusion Criteria:

• Arrhythmia
• Cognitive change (inability to answer questions)
• Psychiatric illness
• Infection at the site of the procedure
• Coagulopathy,
• Use of anticoagulants
• Hypersensitivity to medications
• Pregnant
• Use of pacemaker