{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T06:59:38Z","timestamp":1763621978641,"version":"3.45.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763596800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Rehabil. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Painless motor radiculopathy is a rare clinical entity, accounting for approximately 5%\u20138% of cervical radiculopathy cases. While current guidelines recommend early surgical intervention for patients with severe motor deficits, the efficacy of nonsurgical management remains unclear.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Case presentation<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We present a case of a 67-year-old man with sudden onset of right shoulder motor paralysis [Medical Research Council (MRC) grade 3-] without pain. MRI revealed multilevel foraminal stenosis at C5\u2013C7\u2013T1 and central disc protrusion at C4\u20135, without cord compression. The patient elected nonsurgical management and received four epidural steroid injections (two interlaminar and two transforaminal) over five weeks. Motor function progressively improved, reaching MRC grade 5-, and shoulder range of motion was fully restored. No adverse effects occurred.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This case demonstrates that epidural steroid injections can be an effective alternative to surgery for selected patients with painless cervical motor radiculopathy and severe motor dysfunction. Individualized treatment strategies should be considered, and further research is warranted to establish optimal management approaches.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fresc.2025.1695867","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T06:18:59Z","timestamp":1763619539000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Case Report: Nonsurgical management of painless cervical motor radiculopathy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"6","author":[{"given":"Yong Ho","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"325","DOI":"10.1093\/brain\/117.2.325","article-title":"Epidemiology of cervical radiculopathy: a population-based study from Rochester, Minnesota, 1976 through 1990","volume":"117","author":"Radhakrishnan","year":"1994","journal-title":"Brain"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"621","DOI":"10.3171\/2017.10.SPINE17669","article-title":"Painless motor radiculopathy of the cervical spine: clinical and radiological characteristics and long-term outcomes after operative decompression","volume":"28","author":"Siller","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Neurosurg Spine"},{"key":"B3","year":""},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1016\/j.spinee.2010.10.023","article-title":"An evidence-based clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical radiculopathy from degenerative disorders","volume":"11","author":"Bono","year":"2011","journal-title":"Spine J"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"175","DOI":"10.1097\/AAP.0b013e31828ea086","article-title":"Epidural steroids: a comprehensive, evidence-based review","volume":"38","author":"Cohen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Reg Anesth Pain Med"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"216","DOI":"10.17085\/apm.2019.14.2.216","article-title":"Painless cervical motor radiculopathy relieved by cervical epidural steroid injection: a case report","volume":"14","author":"Lee","year":"2019","journal-title":"Anesth Pain Med"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"375","DOI":"10.17085\/apm.2017.12.4.375","article-title":"Oblique interlaminar lumbar epidural steroid injection for management of low back pain with lumbosacral radicular pain: a case report","volume":"12","author":"Byeon","year":"2017","journal-title":"Anesth Pain Med"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S24","DOI":"10.1093\/pm\/pnab040","article-title":"An algorithmic approach to treating lumbar spinal pain with epidural steroid injections","volume":"22","author":"Diwan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Pain Med"},{"key":"B9","volume-title":"Aids to Examination of the Peripheral Nervous System. 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Cervical radiculopathy","volume":"353","author":"Carette","year":"2005","journal-title":"N Engl J Med"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"E251","DOI":"10.1097\/BSD.0000000000000284","article-title":"Cervical radiculopathy: epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment","volume":"28","author":"Woods","year":"2015","journal-title":"J Spinal Disord Tech"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"265","DOI":"10.1007\/s11420-011-9218-z","article-title":"Cervical radiculopathy: a review","volume":"7","author":"Caridi","year":"2011","journal-title":"HSS J"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.3344\/kjp.2022.35.3.322","article-title":"Current practices of cervical epidural block in managing cervical radicular pain: a multicenter survey conducted by the Korean pain society","volume":"35","author":"Kim","year":"2022","journal-title":"Korean J Pain"},{"key":"B14","first-page":"746","article-title":"Nonoperative management of cervical radiculopathy","volume":"93","author":"Childress","year":"2016","journal-title":"Am Fam Physician"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"272","DOI":"10.1007\/s12178-016-9349-4","article-title":"Cervical radiculopathy","volume":"9","author":"Iyer","year":"2016","journal-title":"Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"751","DOI":"10.1097\/00007632-199704010-00007","article-title":"Long-lasting cervical radicular pain managed with surgery, physiotherapy, or a cervical collar: a prospective, randomized study","volume":"22","author":"Persson","year":"1997","journal-title":"Spine"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1715","DOI":"10.1097\/BRS.0b013e31829ff095","article-title":"Surgery versus nonsurgical treatment of cervical radiculopathy: a prospective, randomized study comparing surgery plus physiotherapy with physiotherapy alone with a 2-year follow-up","volume":"38","author":"Engquist","year":"2013","journal-title":"Spine (Phila Pa 1976)"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fresc.2025.1695867\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]],"date-time":"2025-11-20T06:19:20Z","timestamp":1763619560000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fresc.2025.1695867\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"references-count":17,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fresc.2025.1695867"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fresc.2025.1695867","relation":{},"ISSN":["2673-6861"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2673-6861","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,20]]},"article-number":"1695867"}}