title: Radial extracorporeal shock-wave therapy in patients with chronic rotator cuff tendinitis: a prospective randomised double-blind placebo-controlled multicentre trial.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of radial extracorporeal shock-wave therapy (rESWT) on patients with chronic tendinitis of the rotator cuff. This was a randomised controlled trial in which 82 patients (mean age 47 years (24 to 67)) with chronic tendinitis diagnosed clinically were randomly allocated to a treatment group who received low-dose rESWT (three sessions at an interval 10 to 14 days, 2000 pulses, 0.11 mJ/mm(2), 8 Hz) or to a placebo group, with a follow-up of six months. The patients and the treating orthopaedic surgeon, who were both blinded to the treatment, evaluated the results. A total of 44 patients were allocated to the rESWT group and 38 patients to the placebo group. A visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain, a Constant-Murley (CMS) score and a simple shoulder test (SST) score significantly improved in both groups at three and six months compared with baseline (all p ≤ 0.012). The mean VAS was similar in both groups at three (p = 0.43) and six months (p = 0.262). Also, the mean CMS and SST scores were similar in both groups at six months (p = 0.815 and p = 0.834, respectively). It would thus seem that low-dose rESWT does not reduce pain or improve function in patients chronic rotator cuff tendinitis compared with placebo treatment.
authors.affiliation: Rijnland Ziekenhuis Leiderdorp, Simon Smitweg 1, 2350 CC Leiderdorp, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kolk
authors.forename: K G Auw
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tamminga
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van der Hoeven
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017006:Rotator Cuff / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chronic rotator cuff tendinitis; Lithotripsy; Radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy; Rotator cuff tendinopathy; Shock wave