SUPRASCAPULAR NERVE INJURY

Course overview

THERE IS INCREASING INTEREST IN THE LITERATURE REGARDING THE CLINICAL DELINEATION OF SUPRASCAPULAR NERVE (SSN) INJURIES. WHILE THE UNDERLYING ETIOLOGY OF SSN NEUROPATHY REMAINS ELUSIVE, MULTIPLE COMPRESSION, TRACTION, AND INFLAMMATORY PATHOPHYSIOLOGIC CASCADES HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED. THE LATTER ARE OFTEN READILY GROUPED WITH OTHER CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS OF SSN DYSFUNCTION AND INEVITABLY BECOME LABELED AS IDIOPATHIC. THE ANATOMICALLY TORTUOUS COURSE OF THE SSN PREDISPOSES IT TO DIRECT MECHANICAL COMPRESSION AT THE SUPRASCAPULAR AND SPINOGLENOID NOTCHES. MOREOVER, ANATOMIC VARIATIONS ALONG THE NERVE'S COURSE, AS WELL AS OCCUPATIONAL OR ATHLETIC OVERUSE CONDITIONS, CAN PREDISPOSE THE SSN TO VARYING DEGREES OF DYSFUNCTION. THIS ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF SSN INJURIES.