Perimenopausal arthralgia in the shoulder.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate perimenopausal arthralgia in the shoulder and treatment thereof.

METHODS

Participants with perimenopausal (n = 197) or premenopausal (n = 113) shoulder arthralgia were included in the study. The prevalences of synovitis, adhesive capsulitis, rotator cuff disorder, arthritis, and other pathologies in the two groups were compared. Participants diagnosed with synovitis were treated with oral prednisolone for 9 to 12 weeks.

RESULTS

The most common diagnosis in the perimenopausal and premenopausal groups was adhesive capsulitis (35.4% and 31.8%, respectively), but the difference in prevalence between the two groups was not significant (P = 0.532). The second most common diagnosis in the perimenopausal group was shoulder synovitis (25.1%), the prevalence of which was significantly higher than that in the premenopausal group (6.2%; P < 0.001). An improvement after treatment with oral prednisolone was reported by 92.9% of the 56 participants diagnosed with shoulder synovitis.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we evaluated the relationship between menopause and shoulder arthralgia, specifically synovitis. These findings can help clinicians correctly diagnose and treat shoulder arthralgia in perimenopausal women.