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Rate ePoster

Musculoskeletal and Sports Medicine

Does a Suprascapular Nerve Block Provide Additional Benefit to Hydrodilatation in the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder?

Friday, October 24, 2025
8:00 AM - 9:15 AM MT
Location: Kiosk 8

    Poster Presenter(s)

  • Dylan B. Combs, MD (he/him/his)

    Resident Physician
    MassGeneral Brigham/Spaulding Rehabilitation/Harvard Medical School PM&R Program
    Charlestown, Massachusetts

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Jaehyung Shin, BS

    Undergraduate Student (Graduated)
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    Corona, California

  • Grace Olson, Other

    Medical Student
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
    Roxbury, Massachusetts

  • XP

    Xiaoyu Pan, MD, PhD, MPH

    Research Instructor
    University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
    Dallas, Texas

  • Raymond Guo, MD

    Resident Physician
    MassGeneral Brigham/Spaulding Rehabilitation/Harvard Medical School PM&R Program
    Plano, Texas

  • JR

    Joseph Ruiz, MD

    Resident Physician
    MassGeneral Brigham/Spaulding Rehabilitation/Harvard Medical School PM&R Program
    Somerville, Massachusetts

  • Rachel Fetterman, MA (she/her/hers)

    Medical Student
    University of Massachusetts Medical School
    Worcester, Massachusetts

  • KM

    Katelyn McCarron, Other

    Researcher
    Mass General Brigham
    Carver, Massachusetts

  • HR

    Hye Chang Rhim, MD

    Sports Medicine Fellow
    Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Harvard Medical School PM&R Program
    Charlestown, Massachusetts

Disclosure(s):
Dylan B. Combs, MD: No financial relationships to disclose
Jaehyung Shin, BS: No financial relationships to disclose
Grace Olson, Other: No financial relationships to disclose
Raymond Guo, MD: No financial relationships to disclose
Joseph Ruiz, MD: No financial relationships to disclose
Rachel Fetterman, MA: No financial relationships to disclose
Background and/or Objectives: Adhesive capsulitis (AC) is a common cause of shoulder pain. Hydrodilatation has been shown to be an effective treatment, however, the optimal procedural method has not yet been identified. In recent studies, suprascapular nerve block (SSNB) has been added as an adjunct to hydrodilatation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if there was additional benefit to adding SSNB to hydrodilatation in treating AC.

Design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.

Setting : N/A

Participants : 230 patients (85M, 145F, mean age 50.99 ± 10.34 years) with AC.

Interventions: Hydrodilatation ± SSNB.

Main Outcome Measures: Range of motion (ROM) including flexion, abduction at 12 weeks, patient-reported functional outcomes including Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) at 12 and 24 weeks. Risk of bias assessments were performed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized controlled trials (ROB 2); Risk Of Bias In Non-Randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for non-RCTs.

Results: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched. 679 studies were retrieved. After removing duplicates and screening titles, abstracts, and full-text reviews, four studies were included (2 retrospective and 1 prospective cohort, 1 randomized control trial, RCT). The RCT was deemed high risk, and three non-RCTs were deemed serious risk of bias. Maximum volume injected for hydrodilatation ranged from 16-58mL. There was no additional benefit of adding SSNB to hydrodilatation in 12-week improvement in flexion (WMD 19.2, 95% CI -51.4 to 89.8) or abduction (WMD -8.5, 95% CI -45.8 to 28.8). Similarly, there was no additional benefit in 12- or 24-week improvement in patient-reported functional outcome (SMD 0.162, 95% CI -0.895 to 1.219; SMD -0.036, 95% CI -0.437 to 0.364, respectively). The only reported adverse effect was post-procedural pain.

Conclusions: Based on the limited number of studies, hydrodilatation, without SSNB, is sufficient for ROM and functional improvement at 12-24 weeks.