Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is not useful after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair

Abstract

Purpose: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is known to accelerate the healing of musculoskeletal tissue. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that ESWT stimulates rotator cuff healing after arthroscopic repair.

Methods: Seventy-one consecutive patients with a small- to large-sized rotator cuff tear underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. The patients were randomized into two groups: 35 patients underwent ESWT at 6 weeks after surgery (ESWT group) and 36 patients did not (control group). Cuff integrity was evaluated with computed tomographic arthrography at 6 months after surgery. Constant and UCLA scores were measurable outcomes.

Results: All patients were available for a minimum one-year follow-up. The mean age of the ESWT and control groups was 59.4 (SD: 7.7) and 58.6 years (SD: 7.8) (n.s.). There were no significant differences in tear size and repair method between the two groups (n.s.). The mean Constant and UCLA scores, respectively, increased from 54.6 to 90.6 (P < 0.001) and from 18.5 to 27.4 (P < 0.001) in the ESWT group, and from 58.9 to 89.3 (P < 0.001) and 18.5 to 27.4 in the control group. Computed tomographic arthrography was performed in 26 patients from the ESWT group and 24 from the control group, and cuff integrity was maintained in 46 out of 50 patients. Definite re-tear was observed in two patients of the ESWT group and four of the controls. There were no complications associated with ESWT.

Conclusion: This study failed to prove that ESWT stimulates rotator cuff healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Additional ESWT after rotator cuff repair could theoretically be advantageous, and it was proven to be safe in this study.

Level of evidence: II.