Scapulothoracic Bursitis or the Snapping Scapula Syndrome May Mimic with Shoulder Pain

Background: The scapulothorasic joint plays an important role in overall shoulder function by providing a stable base for glenohumeral rotation. Snapping scapula syndrome, a likely under diagnosed condition, can produce significant shoulder dysfunction in many patients. Because the precise origin is difficult to understand, sometimes mimic with shoulder pain. Dysfunctioning of any of muscles, ligament, bursa may cause abnormal scapular motion and predispose to scapulothoracic joint disorders. Accurate recognition of the syndrome may lead to prompt and long-term relief of symptoms by conservative or noninvesiveintervension treatment.Results:The causes of scapulothoracic bursitis and crepitus include direct or indirect trauma, overuse syndromes, glenohumeral joint dysfunction, boney abnormalities, muscle microtrauma or atrophy or fibrosis, and idiopathic causes. Scapulothoracic bursitis and crepitus remain primarily clinical diagnoses. However, imaging studies or local injections may also be helpful. The initial treatment of scapulothoracic bursitis and scapulothoracic crepitus should be conservative. Intevension procedure is best for treating modalitis for scapulothoracic dysfunction, most reports have demonstrated well to excellent outcomes in a significantly high percentage of patients.Conclusions:Clearly, the best initial approach to these conditions is a conservative treatment like nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs plan that combines scapular strengthening, postural reeducation, and core strength endurance. If an appropriate trial of nonoperative management proves unsuccessful, local non invesiveintervension can produce good results.

Spontaneously Regressed Bilateral Scapulothoracic Bursitis / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Scapulothoracic bursitis causes snapping scapular syndrome, which is characterized by shoulder pain accompanying bony crepitation during shoulder motion, or as an isolated entity causing shoulder discomfort. The pathogenesis of scapulothoracic bursa formation is thought to be related to chronic repetitive mechanical stress on the periscapular tissue, usually from the result of a bone abnormality (a protrusion of the scapula or rib cage). Scapulothracic bursitis is treated with conservative management and the result can be successful. Accurate diagnosis is important because surgery is not necessary except for cases with pain, excessive friction, or dysfunction. We report a patient with rapidly developed bilateral scapulothoracic bursitis without pain and snapping, which can be confused with a soft tissue sarcoma. In this case, conservative management was used to treat the patient.