Objective To assess the ability to generate both kinesthetic and visual motor imagery in participants with chronic shoulder pain, compared with asymptomatic subjects. To assess the influence of psychosocial and motor variables in the motor imagery process.

Methods A cross-sectional observational study was conducted with a non-probability sample of 30 participants, divided into 15 patients with chronic shoulder pain and 15 asymptomatic subjects. Participants completed socio-demographic questionnaires, followed by assessment of mental imagery and mental chronometry using the MIQ-R questionnaire, as well as range of motion and grip strength.

Results Our results indicated that patients with chronic shoulder pain had difficulty generating kinesthetic and visual MI (p<0.05; d>0.80) and also took a longer time to imagine them (p<0.05; d>-0.80). A moderate-positive association was found between the levels of CPSS and the kinesthetic motor imagery ability (r=0.54, p=0.035), explaining 24.5% of the variance. In addition, a moderate-positive association was also found between the strength of the affected upper limb with the total score of MIQ-R (r=0.56, p=0.037), explaining 25.7% of the variance.

Conclusions Based on the obtained results, it seems that patients with chronic shoulder pain have greater difficulty with generating both kinesthetic and visual motor images compared to asymptomatic subjects, and they also needed more time to perform the mental tasks. It was found that psychosocial state and motor condition may influence the imagining ability of patients with chronic shoulder pain. Further research is needed to improve our understanding and to be able to establish clinical implications.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This study was approved by the ethics committee of University La Salle (CSEULS- PI-031/2022).

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All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors