Peripheral paresthesia in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome

Introduction Some patients presenting with subacromial impingement syndrome complain of tingling and numbness radiating to hand. In the current literature, there is no description of such paresthesia being a part of the clinical picture of impingement syndrome.

Objective This observational study aimed at looking whether these symptoms resolve with successful arthro- scopic decompression of the impingement. Material and methods One hundred consecutive patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery were enlisted for the study.

Results Fifty-four percent reported paresthesia during the course of the shoulder problem (63% of them had radial sided symptoms, 29.6% ulnar-sided symptoms and 7.4% involving all Wngers). SigniWcant association was observed between the occurrence of paresthesia and worst pain levels (P = 0.0053), age of the patient (P = 0.0104) and the acro- mial impingement grade (P = 0.0377). Nerve conduction studies done in seven patients (with paresthesia) selected by systematic random sampling did not show any signiWcant attributable entrapment neuropathy. Up to 12 months fol- low-up, 48 of 54 (88%) had complete relief of pain and par- esthesia and 50 (92.5%) were satisWed.

Conclusion Some patients with subacromial impingement syndrome report associated peripheral paresthesia radiating to hand, which is strongly associated with the age, pain level and the grade of impingement. In most (88%) of such cases, these symptoms are relieved after treatment of the impingment lesion. The incidence and aetiology of such paresthesia is the subject of further studies.

Keywords: Thoracic outlet syndrome · Subacromial impingement · Paresthesia