Management of Shoulder Pain in Primary Care: A Review

Importance Shoulder pain is a common and disabling condition most often managed in primary care. This review provides an evidence-based update on the diagnosis and management of shoulder pain to support clinical decision-making and improve patient outcomes.

Observations Shoulder pain arises from benign, self-limiting soft-tissue disorders or rare but serious causes. In primary care, most cases are nontraumatic and involve periarticular soft tissues. The subacromial region is the most frequent source of pain, and the term subacromial pain is preferred over overlapping and inconsistently defined labels such as rotator cuff tendinopathy or tear, impingement syndrome, or subacromial bursitis. Less commonly, pain originates from the glenohumeral joint, as in glenohumeral osteoarthritis or adhesive capsulitis. Assessment should focus on a detailed history and physical examination to assess pain patterns and movement limitation and to exclude serious causes, such as infection, malignant neoplasm, or nonshoulder referred pain. Once these are excluded, first-line treatment is similar for most patients and aligns with recommended care for other regional musculoskeletal concerns: education about the favorable natural history, symptom relief and activity modification if needed, and watchful waiting. Early imaging is not indicated in the absence of significant trauma or suspicious features, such as fever, unexplained weight loss, or history of malignant neoplasm, as structural abnormalities often do not correlate with symptoms, rarely alter management, and may lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Specialist referral should be reserved for suspected serious pathology, such as infection, malignant neoplasm, fracture, or dislocation; significant functional or neurologic deficit; features suggestive of systemic inflammatory disease; or persistent or worsening pain and debility. High-certainty evidence indicates that subacromial pain does not benefit from surgical intervention.

Conclusions and Relevance Shoulder pain is the third most common musculoskeletal presentation in primary care. Although causes vary, the initial management is largely the same once serious conditions have been excluded. Most patients with subacromial pain will fully recover with minimal intervention and can be safely treated with supportive care. Imaging and referral to surgical subspecialists should be reserved for rare and carefully selected cases to avoid unnecessary intervention.

Author/s:

Romi Haas, Thomas Ibounig, MD, Buchbinder, Rachelle

The Women's Preventive Services Initiative Well-Woman Chart: A Helpful Tool for the Practice of Internal Medicine

Devin Evans — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 05:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

September 29, 2020

Journal/Publication:

The American Journal of Medicine

Publication Date:

October 1, 2020

Issue:

Volume:

133

Pages:

1122-1125

URL:

The Women's Preventive Services Initiative Well-Woman Chart: A Helpful Tool for the Practice of Internal Medicine

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjmed.2020.05.011

Keywords

PMID (1):

32565259

MeSH

pregnancy

Perinatal Care

Preventive Health Services

Women's Health Services

A potentially useful chart of preventive services applicable to women endorsed by a number of professional associations.

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The Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) is a national coalition of 21 professional organizations and patient representatives that develops, reviews, updates, and disseminates evidence-based clinical recommendations for women's preventive health care services, from adolescence into the postreproductive years. The aim of the WPSI is to provide a clinically useful tool for practicing clinicians to help them identify and implement recommended preventive care services. The Well-Woman Chart (WWC) was created to serve as a central reference of the evidence-based reviews and recommendations. The chart provides a quick summary of screening, risk assessment, and counseling recommendations, along with links to obtain further clarification. The topics included are updates to the 2011 Institute of Medicine recommendations, as well as any other topics that were deemed relevant to the well-being of women. A brief summary of preventive services recommended during the pregnancy and postpartum periods are also included, though the WWC is not meant to be a comprehensive guide for perinatal care. We encourage clinicians to familiarize themselves with the contents of the WWC and use this tool to educate others to ensure women receive optimized preventive services.

Author/s:

Batur, Pelin, Phipps, Maureen, Qaseem, Amir