Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Jan 5:4:1-6.
doi: 10.2174/1874325001004010001.

The dose-response effect of medical exercise therapy on impairment in patients with unilateral longstanding subacromial pain

Håvard Osterås  1 , Tom Arild Torstensen
Affiliations

The dose-response effect of medical exercise therapy on impairment in patients with unilateral longstanding subacromial pain

Håvard Osterås et al. Open Orthop J. .

Abstract

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effect of medical exercise therapy in shoulder impingement patients, along with possible correlations between impairment variables.

Study design: A prospective unblended randomized clinical trial.

Methods: Over four months, 61 participants were randomly assigned into a high-graded exercise therapy group (HD) (n=31) and into a low-graded exercise therapy group (LD) (n=30). Prognostic variables were similar between the groups at baseline. Five (8%) patients dropped out during the treatment period, and another four (6%) dropped out before followup. Pain was a composite score of a visual analogue scale (VAS). Isometric strength was measured during four resisted break tests on the shoulder. Function was measured by means of a functional assessment questionnaire (Shoulder Rating Questionnaire, SRQ). Both groups trained three times per week for twelve weeks, with tests pre- and posttraining and six months follow-up.

Results: The HD group achieved significantly (p < 0.05) better outcome effects than the LD group for pain, range of motion, isometric functional strength and function, but both groups increased function from pretest to posttest.

Conclusions: In patients with uncomplicated subacromial pain syndrome, medical exercise therapy is an efficient treatment alternative, where high-grade doses should be emphasized. A major limitation is that the measurements were not undertaken by another person than the treating physiotherapists.

Keywords: Shoulder; dose-response; impingement; muscle function.; physical therapy; rehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig (1).
Fig (1).
Subject flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Van der Windt DA, Koes BW, de Jong BA, Bouter LM. Shoulder disorders in general practice: Incidence, patient characteristics, and management. Ann Rheum Dis. 1995;54:959–64. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jette AM, Delitto A. Physical therapy treatment choices for musculoskeletal impairments. Phys Ther. 1997;77:145–54. - PubMed
    1. Luime JJ, Koes BW, Hendriksen IJ, et al. Prevalence and incidence of shoulder pain in the general population; A systematic review. Scand J Rheumatol. 2004;33(2):73–81. - PubMed
    1. Kuhn JE. Exercise in the treatment of rotator cuff impingement: A systematic review and synthesized evidence-based rehabilitation protocol. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2009;18:138–60. - PubMed
    1. Desmeules F, Cote CH, Fremont P. Therapeutic exercise and orthopedic manual therapy for impingement syndrome: a systematic review. Clin J Sport Med. 2003;13:176–82. - PubMed