Self-managed loaded exercise versus usual physiotherapy treatment for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A pilot randomised controlled trial

Littlewood, Chris; Malliaras, Peter; Mawson, Sue; May, Stephen; Walters, Stephen J.

Abstract

Objectives: Rotator cuff tendinopathy is a common source of shoulder pain characterised by persistent and/or recurrent problems for a proportion of sufferers. The aim of this study was to pilot the methods proposed to conduct a substantive study to evaluate the effectiveness of a self-managed loaded exercise programme versus usual physiotherapy treatment for rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Design: A single-centre pragmatic unblinded parallel group pilot randomised controlled trial.

Setting: One private physiotherapy clinic, northern England.

Participants: Twenty-four participants with rotator cuff tendinopathy. Interventions: The intervention was a programme of self-managed loaded exercise. The control group received usual physiotherapy treatment.

Main outcomes: Baseline assessment comprised the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) and the Short-Form 36, repeated three months post randomisation.

Results: The recruitment target was met and the majority of participants (98%) were willing to be randomised. 100% retention was attained with all participants completing the SPADI at three months. Exercise adherence rates were excellent (90%). The mean change in SPADI score was -23.7 (95% CI -14.4 to -33.3) points for the self-managed exercise group and -19.0 (95% CI -6.0 to -31.9) points for the usual physiotherapy treatment group. The difference in three month SPADI scores was 0.1 (95% CI -16.6 to 16.9) points in favour of the usual physiotherapy treatment group.

Conclusions: In keeping with previous research which indicates the need for further evaluation of self-managed loaded exercise for rotator cuff tendinopathy, these methods and the preliminary evaluation of outcome offer a foundation and stimulus to conduct a substantive study.

Citation

Littlewood, C., Malliaras, P., Mawson, S., May, S., & Walters, S. J. (2014). Self-managed loaded exercise versus usual physiotherapy treatment for rotator cuff tendinopathy: A pilot randomised controlled trial. Physiotherapy, 100(1), 54-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2013.06.001

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2014-03
• Deposit Date: Dec 19, 2024
• Journal: Physiotherapy (United Kingdom)
• Print ISSN: 0031-9406
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 100
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 54-60
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2013.06.001
• Keywords: Exercise, Quality of life, Randomised controlled trial, Rehabilitation, Rotator cuff tendinopathy
• Related Public URLs: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/79600/