Increased Risk for Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder following Cervical Disc Surgery

Abstract

Shoulder problems are common in patients with a cervical herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD). This study aimed to explore the incidence and risk of shoulder capsulitis/tendonitis following cervical HIVD surgery. We used data from the Taiwan “Longitudinal Health Insurance Database”. We identified all patients who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of displacement of a cervical HIVD and who underwent cervical surgery (n = 1625). We selected 8125 patients who received cervical HIVD conservative therapy only as the comparison group matched with study patients. We individually tracked these sampled patients for 6 months to identify all patients who received a diagnosis of shoulder tendonitis/capsulitis. We found that incidence rates of shoulder tendonitis/capsulitis during the 6-month follow-up period were 3.69 (95% CI: 2.49~5.27) per 100 person-years for the study group and 2.33 (95% CI: 1.89~2.86) per 100 person-years for the comparison group. Cox proportional hazard regressions showed that the adjusted hazard ratio for shoulder tendonitis/capsulitis among patients who underwent cervical disc surgery was 1.66 (95% CI = 1.09~2.53) when compared to comparison group. We concluded that patients who underwent surgery for a cervical HIVD had a significantly higher risk of developing shoulder capsulitis/tendonitis in 6 months follow-up compared to patients who received cervical HIVD conservative therapy only.

Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder

“…Again using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005 in Taiwan, patients who underwent surgery for a cervical herniated disk disease had a markedly higher risk (1.66) of developing shoulder capsulitis in 6-month follow-up compared with patients who received conservative therapy only. 21 Last, though not surgical, worth mentioning is a case study of 3 cases of acute onset of AC after pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. 22 Treatment Options…”

Clinical Diagnosis of Common Overlapping Shoulder and Cervical Spine Disorders

“…This condition can often coexist with cervical radiculopathy, hypothesized to be caused by disuse of the rotator cuff muscles or as a progression of the radiculopathy itself 22 . Furthermore, patients who underwent cervical fusion or discectomy, compared with those who were treated with conservative management, are at an increased risk of developing adhesive capsulitis 23 .…”

Concomitant Cervical Spine Stenosis Negatively Affects Subpectoral Biceps Tenodesis Outcomes

“…While there is a well-known relationship regarding the dermatomal overlap of pain pathways in the shoulder joint as originating from either the joint itself or the cervical spine, few studies have evaluated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after shoulder arthroscopy in patients with concomitant cervical spine pathology. [6][7][8][9][10] Dunn et al 7 demonstrated in an 86,501 patient analysis of prevalence across time that the number of patients with both rotator cuff pathology and cervical spine stenosis has increased significantly in the past decade. Moorthy et al 11 compared outcomes in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with or without concomitant cervical radiculopathy but found no significant difference in postoperative functional outcomes between the 2 groups.…”