Corticosteroid Injection Versus Nerve Block

January 5, 2026 updated by: University of Minnesota

A Randomized Comparative Cohort Study of the Use of Intra-articular Corticosteroid Injection Compared to Suprascapular Nerve Block for Treatment of Shoulder Pain

The purpose of this study is to evaluate conservative pain relief measures for patients suffering from glenohumeral arthritis or rotator cuff arthropathy. Conservative management of osteoarthritis is often first line treatment, and while a corticosteroid injection is frequently used, suprascapular nerve blocks have not often been described as an analgesic option in this population.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55414
        • Recruiting
        • University of Minnesota
        • Contact:
          • Allison Rao

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • diagnosis of glenohumeral osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or rotator cuff arthropathy who are being offered injection

Exclusion Criteria:

  • uncontrolled diabetes (patients will be excluded if no HbA1c within a year or if it is 8 or greater"
  • known allergy to steroid or anesthetic
  • pregnant women
  • prisoners
  • patients with diminished capacity to consent to participation
  • children under 18 years of age
  • non-English speakers

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: intraarticular methylprednisolone acetate injection (IACI)
Patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or rotator cuff arthropathy who are poor surgical candidates or who are not interested in pursuing surgery randomized to intraarticular corticosteroid injection (IACI).
Other: intraarticular corticosteroid injection (IACI)
The patient will be in a seated position. Correct patient, laterality, and procedure will be performed during the timeout. Ultrasound guidance will be used to identify the glenohumeral joint. The injection site will then be disinfected with an alcohol wipe. A 21, 22, or 23-gauge needle (depending on provider preference) will be advanced into the glenohumeral joint under direct ultrasound visualization. After entry into the glenohumeral joint, a negative aspiration will be performed. At that time, up to 1 mL of 40mg/mL methylprednisolone acetate will be injected be injected into the joint space.
Experimental: suprascapular nerve block (SSNB) with bupivacaine and triamcinolone
Patients with glenohumeral osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or rotator cuff arthropathy who are poor surgical candidates or who are not interested in pursuing surgery randomized to suprascapular nerve block (SSNB)
Other: suprascapular nerve block (SSNB)
The patient will be in a seated position. Correct patient, laterality, and procedure will be performed during the timeout. Ultrasound guidance will be used to identify the suprascapular nerve in its path at the suprascapular notch. After disinfection of the injection site with alcohol, anatomic landmarks for SSNB as described by Dangoisse et al. [10] will be marked with a marking pen. Ultrasound will be utilized to guide the tip of a 21, 22, or 23 gauge (depending on provider preference) needle to the floor of the suprascapular fossa while avoiding neurovascular structures. At that time, a mixture of up to 10 mL of 0.5% bupivacaine and 20 mg triamcinolone will be slowly injected to fill the fascial contents of the suprascapular fossa under direct ultrasound guidance.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
change in visual analog scale (VAS) for pain
Time Frame: preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
a validated continuous scale assessment for pain
preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
single assessment numerical evaluation (SANE) of the shoulder
Time Frame: preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
a validated tool providing a numerical score from 0-100 that assess shoulder function as subjectively reported by the subject. A higher score indicates superior shoulder function.
preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
Oxford shoulder score (OSS)
Time Frame: preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
a validated patient-reported outcome measure used to assess shoulder pain and functional disability. Possible scores range from 0-48 with higher scores indicating superior better shoulder function.
preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
American shoulder and elbow surgeons (ASES) score
Time Frame: preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention
a validated survey with possible scores from 0-100 that assesses shoulder function as reported by the subject. A higher score indicates superior shoulder function.
preintervention, 24 hours, 3 days, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Allison Rao, MD, University of Minnesota

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 2, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

January 2, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 2, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 3, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 10, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

December 16, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 5, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ORTHOSURG-2024-33106

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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