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PNA RESEARCH CASE LIBRARYNeurological & Shoulder Rehabilitation · 2025

Functional Restoring in Parsonage-Turner Syndrome With a Multimodal Rehabilitation Program: A Case Report

Eric Chun-Pu Chu

Cureus · 2025 · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.80383

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THE CASE IN PLAIN ENGLISH

What happened?

A 63-year-old man presented with severe right shoulder pain and scapular winging associated with Parsonage-Turner syndrome (neuralgic amyotrophy). The report also describes a complex presentation involving supraspinatus tendon and long thoracic nerve pathology.

Clinical findings

  • Severe unilateral shoulder pain with right scapular winging.
  • The report discusses long thoracic nerve injury, serratus anterior neuralgic amyotrophy and a supraspinatus tendon tear.
  • The authors highlight the importance of diagnostic timing and integrating clinical and electrodiagnostic information.

Rehabilitation described in the report

  • An eight-week multimodal programme combined physiotherapy with spinal manipulation, magnetic muscle stimulation and scraping therapy.
  • The intervention was tailored to the patient's symptoms and neuromuscular presentation.

Reported outcomes

  • The authors report improvement in shoulder stability, range of motion and pain after eight weeks.
  • Muscle wasting was not fully restored, despite reported functional improvement.

Clinical lessons to consider

  • Sudden severe shoulder pain followed by weakness or scapular winging should prompt consideration of neuralgic amyotrophy and relevant differentials.
  • Assess shoulder function and neurological involvement together.
  • Interpret multimodal case outcomes cautiously because the contribution of each treatment cannot be separated.

Limitations — what this case cannot tell us

  • Single case report without a control group; the combined interventions prevent attribution of benefit to physiotherapy or any other individual component.
  • The report itself calls for controlled research and notes incomplete restoration of muscle wasting.

Original source

Eric Chun-Pu Chu. “Functional Restoring in Parsonage-Turner Syndrome With a Multimodal Rehabilitation Program: A Case Report.” Cureus, 2025. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.80383

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This page is an independently written educational summary, not a reproduction of the full paper. Check the original article for complete methods, outcome tables, references and licensing.