BACKGROUND: Shoulder pain is a common cause of musculoskeletal pain affecting millions of patients each year. Common treatment modalities include physical therapy, pharmacologic agents, injections, and surgery. However, these treatments may not be effective for all patients.

CASE REPORT: We present the case of a 46-year-old woman with over 20 years of chronic refractory right shoulder pain. The patient underwent multiple interventions, including trigger point injections, a right subacromial bursa injection, a barbotage procedure, and epidural steroid injections, all of which failed to adequately control her pain. A peripheral nerve stimulator (PNS) trial targeting the dorsal scapular nerve was subsequently performed with remarkable improvement throughout the trial period.

CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of PNS of the dorsal scapular nerve used for the treatment of refractory shoulder pain. Our case suggests that dorsal scapular nerve stimulation may represent a viable therapeutic option in carefully selected patients.

KEYWORDS: Shoulder pain, dorsal scapular nerve, neuromodulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, scapulalgia