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Review
. 2020 Jul 22;9(8):2331.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9082331.

Suprascapular Neuropathy around the Shoulder: A Current Concept Review

Federico Bozzi  1 , Sergi Alabau-Rodriguez  2 , Sergi Barrera-Ochoa  2 , Atesch Ateschrang  3 , Anna J Schreiner  4 , Juan Carlos Monllau  2   5 , Simone Perelli  2   5
Affiliations
Review

Suprascapular Neuropathy around the Shoulder: A Current Concept Review

Federico Bozzi et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Suprascapular neuropathy is an uncommon but increasingly recognized cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction due to nerve entrapment. The aim of this review is to summarize some important aspects of this shoulder pathology. An extensive research was performed on PubMed and Clinical Key. The goal was to collect all the anatomical, biomechanical and clinical studies to conduct an extensive overview of the issue. Attention was focused on researching the state of art of the diagnosis and treatment. A total of 59 studies were found suitable and included. This condition is more frequently diagnosed in over-head athletes or patients with massive rotator cuff tears. Diagnosis may be complex, whereas its treatment is safe, and it has a great success rate. Prompt diagnosis is crucial as chronic conditions have worse outcomes compared to acute lesions. Proper instrumental evaluation and imaging are essential. Dynamic compression must initially be treated non-operatively. If there is no improvement, surgical release should be considered. On the other hand, soft tissue lesions may first be treated non-operatively. However, surgical treatment by arthroscopic means is advisable when possible as it represents the gold standard therapy. Other concomitant shoulder lesions must be recognized and treated accordingly.

Keywords: Arthroscopic nerve release; over-head activities; shoulder neuropathy; spinoglenoid notch; suprascapular nerve palsy; suprascapular notch.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Rengachary morphothypes classification of the suprascapular notch.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A clinical photograph of a patient with suprascapular nerve compression shows the resultant atrophy in the supraspinatus fossa.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) Suprascapular stretch test; (B) Cross-arm adduction test.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Patient affected by paralabral cyst of the right shoulder: coronal (left image) and transverse (right image) views of an MRI with contrast agent. The arrows highlight the cyst.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic top view of the right shoulder with the refferal point for establishing Neviaser (blue cross) and LaFosse (green cross) portals. C: coracoid, SN: suprascapular nerve, SA: suprascapular artery, SNo: suprascapular notch, SGNo: spino-glenoid notch.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Neviaser portal (1) is placed approximately 1 cm medial to the acromion, between the clavicle and the scapular spine. LaFosse portal is located 2-3 cm medial to the Neviaser portal. Coracoid (C), acromion (A).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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