Effectiveness of scapular mobilization to reduce shoulder pain among the patients with Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Background: Patients with Spinal Cord Injury often experience debilitating shoulder pain. This study investigates the effectiveness of scapular mobilization as a potential intervention to alleviate this pain and enhance the quality of life for these individuals.Objectives: The objectives were to identify the effectiveness of scapular mobilization in reducing shoulder pain among patients with spinal cord injury. Methodology:Pretest and posttest designs were used to conduct this study. 16 participants were selected according to inclusion criteria. The 'VAS' and 'Goniometer' were used to assess the shoulder pain and joint range of motion (ROM). Analysis was done through SPSS v22. To analyze the pre-post test data, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used. Result: Among 16 participants, the mean age was 27.69 with a standard deviation of ±11.5, median 27, mode 18, maximum age 52, minimum age 13. Male participants were predominantly higher than female participants. Out of the 16 participants, 93.8% (n=15) were male, and 6.3% (n=1) were female. Among them, 50% (n=8) of the participants were caused to fall from a height, 37% (n=6) were caused by a road traffic accident, and 12.5% (n=2) were caused by heavy objects falling on them. The most significant neurological level was T12, with a percentage of 31.3%, while 25% were at L1, and 12.4% were at T7 and T11, respectively. The right-sided shoulder joint was affected in 43.75% of cases, the left-sided in 31.25%, and 25% were affected on both sides. In the statistical analysis, there was a significant improvement in shoulder pain reduction, shoulder flexion, and extension.Conclusion:Overall, this dissertation showed that scapular mobilization was more dominant than only conventional physiotherapy in reducing shoulder pain and improving shoulder movement.