title: Examination of shoulder positioning after stroke: A randomised controlled pilot trial.
abstract: Shoulder pain and stiffness is a serious problem in patients following stroke. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a shoulder positioning protocol on shoulder joint pain and range in the affected upper limb. Twenty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental or control groups and participated in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program. In addition, the experimental group received prolonged positioning of the shoulder daily for six weeks. Resting pain, pain on dressing, pain-free active abduction and passive external rotation range were measured on entry to the study and after six weeks. Twenty-three subjects completed the study. The differences between the groups were not statistically significant (p < 0.05), however, because of low statistical power the results are inconclusive.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, The University of Sydney, Lidcombe, NSW, 1825, Australia. c.dean@cchs.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Fiona H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.forename: Pesi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katrak