Intraosseous extension of supraspinatus calcific tendonitis in a young patient with severe shoulder pain: a rare case report

Abstract

Calcific tendinopathy is one of the causes of shoulder pain and limited range of motion when it affects the rotator cuff tendons. Complications of such a condition are rare and include intraosseous and intramuscular migration. Calcific tendonitis can be classified as acute, subacute or chronic based on the onset of symptoms. The incidence of calcific tendonitis affects females more than males, with the median age of onset being between 40 and 60 years old. Diagnostic modalities include radiographs and computed tomography (CT); however, these are suboptimal when compared to the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging. Ninety percent of these cases are treated non-surgically. We present a rare case of a young female patient with right shoulder pain and limited range of motion secondary to the intraosseous migration of calcific tendonitis. The patient’s symptoms were resolved after a CT-guided percutaneous bone biopsy of the lesion. Clinical correlation with the aid of imaging and histopathology is a multimodal approach to help diagnose and treat such conditions.

The Efficacy of Manual Therapy and Ultrasound in Treatment of Calcific Tendinitis of the Shoulder

“…It most often occurs between the ages of 30 and 50 and is approximately twice as common in women than in men. It occurs more often in the right shoulder than in the left, and in 10% of patients, it involves both shoulders (1,3).…”