Shoulder Pain Pump Linked to Shoulder Injury: Study

Glendale, AZIt's pretty sad when an aid to minimize pain after shoulder surgery winds up causing further shoulder injury, together with more problems than you had in the first place. However that seems to be the case with the shoulder pain pump, and the link to PAGCL. A recent study published over the summer in the American Journal of Sports Medicine seems to bear that observation out.

PAGCL, by the way, is the acronym for posarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis, a condition described as rare but one that nonetheless has been found, when it happens, to cause permanent damage to an individual's shoulder, and range of motion.

The condition usually happens after arthroscopic surgery, which is often invoked to treat a range of conditions—from arthritis, to rotator cuff injuries, or other conditions affecting the shoulder. There is always, of course, post-operative pain and discomfort. In recent times the medical community has discovered that connecting a pain pump, and feeding pain medication directly to the affected area dramatically increases the comfort of the patient.

However, pain pumps have been found to have their dark side, and the issue was examined in a study conducted by Brent P. Hansen et al, via the Advanced Joint Care and Orthopedic Sports Medicine center in Glendale, Arizona and first published last year.

The researchers examined 177 patients who had undergone arthroscopic shoulder procedures. A total of 30 patients underwent capsular procedures, and of those 19 patients were hooked up to shoulder pain pumps, or more correctly known as intra-articular pain pump catheters filled with bupivacaine and epinephrine, for pain relief.

Of the 19, a total of 12 developed PAGCL. That's a dramatic finding; with more than half (and bordering on two-thirds) of the shoulder pain pump patients developing PAGCL.

It was noted in the study that the senior author had performed scores of shoulder surgeries over several years. Of four common factors identified in all the patients involved in the study group, only the inclusion of "high-flow intra-articular pain pump catheters filled with bupivacaine and epinephrine were a new addition to years of shoulder surgery by the senior author."

The study concluded, "Use of intra-articular pain pump catheters eluting bupivacaine with epinephrine appear highly associated with postarthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis."

In other words, it is strong evidence that shoulder pain pumps serve as a link to PAGCL.

We're not talking about simply a pain, or an ache in the shoulder here. PAGCL has proven to be debilitating for some patients, affecting both their lifestyle, and their livelihood. It can be assumed that many of these patients (outside of the context of the study) were not warned about the risks associated with using a shoulder pain pump for control and mitigation of pain. People who relied on their physical strength, stamina and flexibility for job performance may have had their standard of living, and their future severely affected, given that PAGCL is often an irreversible condition.

If you have suffered debilitating shoulder issues as the result of the use of a shoulder pain pump after surgery, you need to consult a shoulder pain pump attorney to help shoulder the weight of litigation with the view towards getting you the compensation you deserve.