The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Managing shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users: a scoping review of conservative treatment interventions

Managing shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users: a scoping review of conservative treatment interventions
Managing shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users: a scoping review of conservative treatment interventions
Objective: to review the literature that has explored conservative treatments for the management of shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users.

Methods: five databases were systematically searched in February 2020 for terms related toshoulder pain and manual wheelchair use. Articles were screened and included if they investigated the conservative treatment of shoulder pain in wheelchair users. Participants’ physical characteristics, experimental design and primary and secondary outcome measures were extracted from studies. Studies were grouped according to treatment type to identify gaps in the literature and guide future research.

Results: the initial search identified 407 articles, of which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. Exercise-based treatment interventions were most prevalent (n=12). A variety of exercise modalities were employed such as strengthening and stretching (n=7), ergometer training (n=3), Pilates classes (n=1) and functional electrical stimulation (n=1). Only 3 studies supplemented exercise with an additional treatment type. The Wheelchair Users Shoulder Pain Index was used by 18 studies as the primary measure of shoulder pain. Only 7 of these included an objective measure of shoulder function. Participant characteristics varied amongst studiesand physical activity levels were frequently not reported.

Conclusions: despite the high prevalence of shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users, the number of studies to have explored conservative treatment types is low.Exercise is the most commonly used treatment, which is encouraging as physical inactivity can exacerbate other health conditions. Few studies have adopted interdisciplinary treatment strategies or includedobjective secondary measures to better understand the mechanisms of pain.
0269-2155
Mason, Barry
6477d053-53d8-4798-ad63-95908e2b043e
Warner, Martin
f4dce73d-fb87-4f71-a3f0-078123aa040c
Briley, Simon
0745ec09-6f3b-47d2-9b80-9a0dab397fc0
Goosey-Tolfrey, Victoria
08aac547-dc87-44cf-b6c1-e61c1deaa1d1
Vegter, Reemer
1f95ce9b-20d8-47f3-9d7b-60f1bdefcecc
Mason, Barry
6477d053-53d8-4798-ad63-95908e2b043e
Warner, Martin
f4dce73d-fb87-4f71-a3f0-078123aa040c
Briley, Simon
0745ec09-6f3b-47d2-9b80-9a0dab397fc0
Goosey-Tolfrey, Victoria
08aac547-dc87-44cf-b6c1-e61c1deaa1d1
Vegter, Reemer
1f95ce9b-20d8-47f3-9d7b-60f1bdefcecc

Mason, Barry, Warner, Martin, Briley, Simon, Goosey-Tolfrey, Victoria and Vegter, Reemer (2020) Managing shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users: a scoping review of conservative treatment interventions. Clinical Rehabilitation. (In Press)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective: to review the literature that has explored conservative treatments for the management of shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users.

Methods: five databases were systematically searched in February 2020 for terms related toshoulder pain and manual wheelchair use. Articles were screened and included if they investigated the conservative treatment of shoulder pain in wheelchair users. Participants’ physical characteristics, experimental design and primary and secondary outcome measures were extracted from studies. Studies were grouped according to treatment type to identify gaps in the literature and guide future research.

Results: the initial search identified 407 articles, of which 21 studies met the inclusion criteria. Exercise-based treatment interventions were most prevalent (n=12). A variety of exercise modalities were employed such as strengthening and stretching (n=7), ergometer training (n=3), Pilates classes (n=1) and functional electrical stimulation (n=1). Only 3 studies supplemented exercise with an additional treatment type. The Wheelchair Users Shoulder Pain Index was used by 18 studies as the primary measure of shoulder pain. Only 7 of these included an objective measure of shoulder function. Participant characteristics varied amongst studiesand physical activity levels were frequently not reported.

Conclusions: despite the high prevalence of shoulder pain in manual wheelchair users, the number of studies to have explored conservative treatment types is low.Exercise is the most commonly used treatment, which is encouraging as physical inactivity can exacerbate other health conditions. Few studies have adopted interdisciplinary treatment strategies or includedobjective secondary measures to better understand the mechanisms of pain.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 16 March 2020

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 439613
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/439613
ISSN: 0269-2155
PURE UUID: 9de90a4b-2dcd-43ce-9085-b7003b6dc84a
ORCID for Martin Warner: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1483-0561

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 28 Apr 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:59

Export record

Contributors

Author: Barry Mason
Author: Martin Warner ORCID iD
Author: Simon Briley
Author: Victoria Goosey-Tolfrey
Author: Reemer Vegter

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×