Pain modulation characteristics in people with shoulder impingement and predictors of successful outcomes following physiotherapy treatment

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: shoulder impingement; Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation - Physiotherapy; Musculoskeletal - Other muscular and skeletal disorders

• Registration Number: ACTRN12615000351516
• Lead Sponsor: Griffith University

Brief Summary

1. Research questions: Is shoulder pain related to impaired sensory function and disturbed psychosocial behaviours? Is conservative treatment involving joint mobilization and exercise able to improve pain modulation measures in people with shoulder pain? 2. Background information There are conflicting results as to whether pain modulation is affected in people with shoulder pain compared to control people. Given that the majority of patients with shoulder pain undergo conservative treatment as a first line approach, and it has been found to affect pain modulation in other musculoskeletal conditions, it is timely to investigate pain modulation in response to conservative treatment in individuals with shoulder pain. 3. Participant characteristics: aged between 18 and 65 years, pain at the anterolateral or posterior aspect of the shoulder for longer than six weeks that was exacerbated by arm elevation, and at least three positive findings on the shoulder provocative tests (experimental group). The control group was formed by people with no history of pain lasting more than four weeks or requiring treatment in the past six months. 4. Key results Compared to asymptomatic people, people with shoulder pain demonstrated no signs of altered pain processing. After 4-week intervention, there were improvements in pain, range of motion and function. There was a statistically significant improvement in temporal summation but not in any other measures of pain modulation.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2015-04-17
• Study Completion: 2015-05-01
• Last Update Posted: 12 July 2021

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 46

Inclusion Criteria

Shoulder pain in the anterosuperior aspect of the shoulder for longer than 6 weeks, and classified with shoulder impingement with at least 3 of the following findings: positive Neer impingement test, positive Hawkins-Kennedy test, positive Jobe test, pain with passive or isometric resisted shoulder lateral rotation, pain with active shoulder elevation, pain with palpation of rotator cuff tendons, and pain in the C5 or C6 dermatome region.
Healthy subjects: no history of shoulder or neck pain or injury; no history of any kind of chronic pain.

Exclusion Criteria

History of cancer, previous fractures of the shoulder complex, recent shoulder surgery, corticosteroid injection into the glenohumeral joint within the previous 6 months, any neurological or auto-immune disorder, any recent shoulder dislocation, or if the shoulder pain was considered to be cervical in origin, history of fainting, dizziness, lightheadedness, chest pain or shortness of breath, or any history of cardiac disease.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified