Observational studyEuropean journal of pain (London, England)2026
Frozen Shoulder Is More Than Local Pain: Widespread Sensory Hyperalgesia or Hypoesthesia?
Observational study in European journal of pain (London, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Frozen Shoulder Is More Than Local Pain: Widespread Sensory Hyperalgesia or Hypoesthesia?European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFrozen shoulder (FS) has long been considered a localised musculoskeletal disorder, yet FS often involves widespread pain, suggesting central sensory dysregulation. While pressure pain threshold (PPT) assesses mechanical sensitivity, electrical measures such as current perception threshold (CPT) and electrical pain threshold (EPT) may capture various sensory alterations but are rarely applied in FS.
objectiveTo map somatosensory alterations in unilateral FS by comparing PPT, CPT, and EPT across multiple regions with matched healthy controls (HC).
methods37 unilateral FS participants and 35 matched HCs underwent PPT, CPT, and EPT measurements at lateral deltoid (LD), medial forearm (MF), cervical spine (CS), and lumbar spine (LS). Bilateral LD and MF were tested in FS participants. Between-group and regional differences were analysed using linear mixed models, and correlations with pain intensity were examined.
resultsFS participants exhibited significantly reduced PPT across all sites (d = 1.27-4.55) and increased CPT and EPT at affected LD and CS regions (d = 2.89-4.92). Electrical thresholds were higher over CS than LS in the FS group, whereas the opposite pattern appeared in the HC group. EPT correlated with PPT (ρ = 0.54), and both were negatively associated with pain intensity (ρ = -0.72 and -0.69, p < 0.001).
conclusionsFS demonstrates mechanical hyperalgesia and electrical hypoesthesia, indicating central neuroplastic changes beyond the affected shoulder. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study integrates electrical and mechanical sensory testing, revealing multimodal evidence of central sensitization in FS and offering novel quantitative markers to guide individualised pain assessment and rehabilitation. TRAIL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: ChiCTR2400086393.
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Registered trials
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