Effects of Corrective External Support and Regional Vibration Applications Added to the Rehabilitation Program in Subacromial Pain Syndrome: Randomized Controlled Study

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of 6 week physiotherapy and kinesio taping (KT) combination (PKT) or physiotherapy and local vibration therapy (LVT) combination (PLVT) with physiotherapy program without these methods and with each other, after 3 weeks and 6 weeks of treatment, and to determine the differences in maintenance of their effects after 3 and 6 months. Shoulder pain is a common complaint that affects about one-third of individuals at some point in their lives. Subacromial Impingement Syndrome (SIS) is a non-infectious and often chronic disease that is the most common cause of shoulder pain. The incidence of the disease with age, its severity and the stage progress. Pain, loss of range of motion (ROM) and strength, functional limitations, and proprioceptive deficits are the findings of the disease. The changes in supraspinatus tendon thickness (SSTT) and narrowing in the subacromial space (SAS) are important parameters associated with these findings. SIS has a significant impact on the health-related quality of life (QoL) of patients, and the financial burden of the disease is high. Achieving and maintaining the treatment success for SIS is a challenging process due to the multi-factor pathogenesis and complexity of the joint. Exercise therapy is essential in treatment; however, some adjunct interventions could potentially improve treatment success. KT and LVT, which aim to optimize the muscle function and show similarities in terms of their facilitation and inhibition effects, have recently come to the fore in this context. Shoulder KT is used for reducing pain, improving function, proprioception, and SAS. However, there is moderate evidence that KT does not have beneficial effects over the sham-tape; studies have a high risk of bias, and acute or short-term results have been investigated with isolated applications. LVT is also used to improve muscle strength, ROM, and motor control. Portable and easy to use massage devices for LVT are on the agenda recently. However, in a single case report in the shoulder reported reduced pain, sensitivity, shoulder ROM, and increased muscle strength, but the results could not be generalized. It may be possible for LVT to improve pain, function, proprioception, and SAS, similar to KT. The positive effects of either method can positively affect the patients' satisfaction and QoL. Still, patient satisfaction has not been investigated before, and there is one investigation for the effects of KT on QoL. It is recommended to determine whether the addition of these methods to physiotherapy programs is more effective than the physiotherapy interventions without these methods with high-quality randomized controlled studies that have a high level of evidence (sufficient number of participants, sufficiently powered results, longer follow-up). Sixty three SIS patients will be included in this study. Short, medium, and long-term effects of 6 weeks PKT or PLVT will be compared objectively with each other and with a rehabilitation program without these methods. Shoulder pain will be evaluated with visual analog scale, ROM and proprioception with an inclinometer, muscle strength with the digital hand dynamometer, SSTT and SAS with ultrasonography, in addition, functionality and disability levels will be determined by SPADI and Short form-Questionnaire for Arm, Shoulder and Hand Problems (Q-DASH). And Patient satisfaction will be evaluated with the Visual Analog Patient Satisfaction Scale survey and quality of life will be evaluated with the SF-12 survey. The maintenance of the effects will be compared between the methods in long-term. Our study will be the first randomized controlled study having these characteristics. The investigators believe that it will contribute significantly to the literature, will help to choose the best management for SIS, the problematic treatment process will succeed in a shorter time and positive results last longer, useful information will be provided to the researchers and healthcare professionals for implementing rational treatment, therefore the success of SIS treatment can be increased, and it can contribute to the reduction of financial burdens.