Shoulder pain and a sticking-out shoulder blade after brain surgery at the back of the head
Original title: Lateral Scapular Winging and Shoulder Pain Following Posterior Fossa Surgery: A Case Report.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is one patient's story plus advice for doctors, not a study that tests a treatment.
The short version
A man's shoulder problem after brain tumor surgery turned out to be a stretched nerve, not a shoulder injury.
What was studied. Doctors wrote up the case of one patient, a 36-year-old man. He had surgery to remove a brain tumor at the back of his head, done while he was lying face down. Soon after, he had right shoulder pain and his shoulder blade began to stick out.
What they found. Tests showed the problem was a damaged nerve that feeds a large muscle across the upper back and shoulder. A scan of the shoulder showed swelling and changes in that muscle. Nerve tests confirmed serious damage to the nerve, but the nerve was still in one piece. An ultrasound showed the muscle had shrunk on that side.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: If you get new shoulder pain or a sticking-out shoulder blade after this kind of brain surgery, it may come from a nerve, not the shoulder joint itself. The doctors say this is easy to miss because it can look like a shoulder problem. Naming it early matters, because treatment usually starts with physical therapy. Surgery on the nerve or tendons is saved for cases that do not get better.
What it doesn't mean: This is a report about one person. It is not a study, and it does not prove anything about what happens to most people. It does not mean this problem is common after brain surgery, and it does not say how often it happens. It is not a new treatment, and it is not a cure for nerve damage. It also does not promise that physical therapy will fix it.
Source: PubMed, July 8, 2026 · Read the original
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