Shoulder pain is a very common musculoskeletal disorder and can result from various pathologies. Though there is a tendency to primarily diagnose almost all cases as ‘frozen shoulder’, careful evaluation and investigations reveal different pathologies in most of the cases. The aim of this cross sectional study was to find out the various pathological conditions presenting as shoulder pain. A total of three hundred patients suffering from shoulder symptoms were included in this observational study conducted in a tertiary care hospital of India and they were evaluated by routine clinical examination, specific clinical tests including Neer test, Hawkins-Kennedy test, Clancy test, Drop Arm test, Empty Can test, cross chest adduction test, O’Brien test, speed test, Yergason test, Gerber lift off test etc. as well as radiological investigations like X-ray, USG and MRI. Among the various pathologies detected, supraspinatus tendinitis and adhesive capsulitis lead the list. Women outnumber men as patients and there is significant difference in disease pattern between genders. While periarticular muscle pathology predominates among male patients, non-muscular causes top the list in female patients. Moreover majority of men have dominant shoulder affection in contrast to the women who mostly suffer from the shoulder disease of the non-dominant side.

Keywords: Shoulder Pain, Periarticular Muscles, Rotator Cuff, Adhesive Capsulitis, Laterality.

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Dr Asoke Kumar Middya

Associate Professor, Dept. of P. M & R, B. S. Medical College & Hospital, Bankura