Investigation of the Effect of Central Sensitization (CS) on Steroid Injection Response in Rotator Cuff Lesion

Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints and its prevalence varies between 7-26%. One of the most common sources of pain in these patients is subacromial impingement syndrome leading to rotator cuff pathology. In patients with shoulder pain, one of the factors associated with the persistence of pain in different etiologies, especially subacromial impingement syndrome, is reported as central sensitization (CS). CS can be summarized as an increase in the response of neurons located in the central nervous system to sub-threshold stimuli. In a meta-analysis of patients with shoulder pain, a decrease in pressure pain threshold was found in 29-77% of patients, and CS in 11-24%. There is increasing data showing that CS negatively affects response to different treatments, including surgery and injections. One of the most frequently used treatments in subacromial impingement syndrome is subacromial/intra-articular shoulder injection. Although various factors have been identified in the prediction of shoulder injection results, the effect of pain sensitization on these procedures is unknown. In this study, it is planned to investigate the effect of the presence and severity of pretreatment central sensitization on the results of the shoulder injection in patients with a rotator cuff lesion or subacromial impingement.