Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2008 , Vol 54 , Num 3

Suprascapular Nerve Neuropathy: A Case Report

Cengiz Bahadır 1 ,Sena Topatan 2 ,Aslıhan Taraktaş 1 ,Kenan AKGÜN 3
1 Haydarpaşa Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul
2 Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey
3 Arnavutköy Devlet Hastanesi, Radyoloji Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye

Isolated suprascapular nerve ınjury is rarely seen. It may cause shoulder pain and functional limitation. This neuropathy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of shoulder pain with glenohumeral instability, rotator cuff disease, cervical radiculopathies, tendinitis, adhesive capsulitis, trauma and degenerative disease. Trauma, repetitive abnormal motions of scapula and iatrogenic causes take place in etiology. Injury of the nerve due to traction and elongation is the most probable pathomechanism. Shoulder pain and limitation of motion are the symptoms that may help to define the nerve damage before devoloping muscle atrophy. While tumoral lesions that can cause nerve entrapment and avulsions due to traction are treated surgically; overuse and elongation ınjuries are treated with physical theraphy modalities. In this report, a case with the complaints of shoulder pain and weakness due to isolated suprascapular neuropathy was discussed. 

Keywords : Suprascapular neuropathy, shoulder pain, atrophy of supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles, electromyography