Shoulder Pain Pumps and Cartilage Damage – The Scientific Evidence

By Marat Gaziev

Published on October 05, 2009

Shoulder pain pumps are used to alleviate post-operative shoulder joint pain. The pain pump has a small catheter that is inserted into the shoulder area and delivers anesthetic drugs directly into the joint to prevent pain. However, research has shown that anesthetics injected into areas of cartilage can cause significant damage to cartilage cells and connective tissue. This has led to close scrutiny of shoulder pain pumps and their potential to cause damage to cartilage in the shoulders.

Two recent studies have found that patients who had anesthetic medications injected into the shoulder joint via a pain pump were at an increased risk of developing Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chrondrolysis (PAGCL), a condition characterized by a painful and permanent deterioration of the cartilage in the shoulder. PAGCL is a non-curable condition for which only the symptoms can be treated.

A 2006 study by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons study examined 152 patients who underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery. The study found that 10 patients who developed PAGCL had pain pump catheters delivering bupivacaine with epinephrine placed in their shoulder joints (intra-articular placement). Seven other patients treated with pain pumps placed in the soft tissue surrounding the joint did not develop PAGCL.

A 2007 study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that 63 percent of patients who receive intra-articular placement of a pain pump catheter are at risk of developing PAGCL.

Consumer groups, attorneys, and patients claim that the manufacturers of shoulder pain pumps failed to warn medical professionals about the potential dangers of anesthetics on cartilage and about proper placement of the pumps. Dozens of shoulder pain pump lawsuits are pending against the manufacturers of these products.

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