Duration of wrist immobilization is associated with shoulder pain in patients with after wrist immobilization: An observational study

The main goal of this study was to determinate the extent of the rela-tionship between shoulder pain and time of wrist and thumb immobili-zation required after injury. One hundred twenty-three consecutive sub-jects presenting to the practice of different Orthopedic Specialist hospi-tals with a diagnosis of distal radius or scaphoid fracture that required wrist and thumb immobilization were screened for eligibility criteria. Upper extremity pain and the need for shoulder rehabilitation were as-sessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline after immobi-lization period (T0) 1- and 3-month follow-up (1-FU/2-FU). More than 35% patients had shoulder pain (VAS > 40 mm) after immobilization of the wrist. Shoulder pain intensity after immobilization and at follow-up (1 and 3 months) was strongly correlated with the duration of the immobi-lization. Immobilization for 3.5 weeks or longer was the strongest pre-dictor for the need of subsequent shoulder rehabilitation. An increased the time of immobilization of the wrist is associated with an increase in shoulder pain and need for shoulder rehabilitation in patients after wrist fracture.