OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of intramuscular neuromuscular electric stimulation (NMES) in reducing poststroke shoulder pain. DESIGN: Multicenter, single-blinded, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Ambulatory centers of 7 academic rehabilitation centers in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Volunteer sample of 61 chronic stroke survivors with shoulder pain and subluxation. INTERVENTION: Treatment subjects received intramuscular NMES to the supraspinatus, posterior deltoid, middle deltoid, and trapezius for 6 hours a day for 6 weeks. Control subjects were treated with a cuff-type sling for 6 weeks. Main outcome measure Brief Pain Inventory question 12 (BPI 12), an 11-point numeric rating scale administered in a blinded manner at the end of treatment, and at 3 and 6 months posttreatment. RESULTS: The NMES group exhibited significantly higher proportions of success based on the 3-point or more reduction in BPI 12 success criterion at the end of treatment (65.6% versus 24.1%, p < 0.01), at 3 months (59.4% versus 20.7%, p < 0.01), and at 6 months (59.4% versus 27.6%, p < 0.05). By using the most stringent "no pain" criterion, the NMES group also exhibited significantly higher proportions of success at the end of treatment (34.4% versus 3.4%, p < 0.01), at 3 months (34.4% versus 0.0%, p < 0.001), and at 6 months (34.4% versus 10.3%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Intramuscular NMES reduces poststroke shoulder pain among those with shoulder subluxation and the effect is maintained for at least 6 months posttreatment.

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