Frequency, severity, and implications of shoulder pain in people with major upper limb amputation who use prostheses: Results of a National Study.

Background: People with upper limb amputation are potentially at increased risk of shoulder pain because they often perform compensatory movements to operate their prostheses and rely more heavily on their nonamputated limb for everyday activities.

Objective: To describe the frequency, severity, associated factors, and implications of shoulder pain in people with unilateral major upper limb amputation who use prostheses.

Design: Cross-sectional, observational design.

Setting: National recruitment of people living in the community.

Participants: U.S. veterans and civilians (N = 107) with unilateral major upper limb amputation.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: Shoulder pain (any, ipsilateral and contralateral to amputation), activity performance (Activities Measure for Upper Limb Amputation), health-related quality of life (Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey mental component summary [MCS] and physical component summary [PCS]), and disability (Quick Version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score [QuickDASH]).

Results: All participants completed a comprehensive in-person assessment. Participants were 97% male with a mean age of 57.1 years and a mean time since amputation of 23.4 years. The prevalence of any shoulder pain was 30% (15% ipsilateral, 25% contralateral, 10% bilateral). Shoulder pain intensity (0 to 10 scale) was moderate for both ipsilateral (mean 4.9, SD 2.0) and contralateral (mean 4.2, SD 2.0) pain. No significant difference in shoulder pain frequency was observed by amputation level. The prevalence of any shoulder pain was greater in those using a body-powered prosthesis (38% compared to 18% in externally powered users). Each additional year since amputation was associated with an increased likelihood of having contralateral shoulder pain (odds ratio: 1.05, confidence interval: 1.01, 1.10). In linear regression models, those with contralateral shoulder pain had worse PCS (β = -7.07, p = .008) and worse QuickDASH (β = 18.25, p < .001) scores.

Conclusions: In our sample of predominantly male veterans with major upper limb amputation, shoulder pain was a common condition associated with functional and quality of life implications. Among prosthesis users, the shoulder contralateral to the amputation was at greatest risk, with risk increasing with every year since amputation.