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- Issue 44
- Effectiveness of adding a large dose…
Effectiveness of adding a large dose of shoulder strengthening to current nonoperative care for subacromial impingement
Key Points
- Recent research has called into question the effectiveness of surgery for subacromial impingement-related shoulder pain, indicating a need for a deeper look at exercise interventions.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
In 2020, the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) published a systematic review strongly discouraging the practice of subacromial decompression surgery, stating that it provided no important benefit compared with placebo surgery or exercise therapy, and carried a small but serious risk (1). While surgery may still be eventually indicated for a specific cohort of patients experiencing subacromial impingement (SI) related shoulder pain, it has become increasingly clear that exercise therapy should be the first line of care.
Shoulder weakness and involvement of the rotator cuff musculotendinous unit is commonly seen alongside SI. Accordingly, shoulder strengthening has been an interventional point of focus. Previous research has failed to differentiate the effectiveness of general versus specific exercise programs or provide a baseline for exercise dosage (2).
The goal of this study was to establish a dose-response relationship for shoulder strengthening exercise and inform clinicians on best practice strategies for the management of SI-related shoulder pain.
Simply adding a large dose of monotonous home exercise is not a viable solution to improve patient outcomes.
METHODS
The authors designed a randomized controlled trial, hypothesizing that prescribing a large dose of “add-on” shoulder strengthening home exercises would result in improved outcomes. Both the control group (CG) and intervention group (IG) attended the same standardized physical therapy, termed