In many instances , no or minimal attempts to screen were undertaken or reported .
Background Subacromial shoulder pain is a common clinical presentation with much diagnostic uncertainty .
Some of this uncertainty relates to the involvement of the cervical spine as a source or contribution to subacromial shoulder pain .
Currently , there is no accepted method of screening of the cervical spine in the presence of subacromial shoulder pain , which risks patients receiving misguided and /or ineffective interventions .
Objective To evaluate approaches used to screen the cervical spine in patients with subacromial shoulder pain .
A trial into the effectiveness of soft tissue massage in the treatment of shoulder pain.
The purpose of this single blinded r and omised controlled trial was to investigate the effects of soft tissue massage on range of motion , reported pain and reported function in patients with shoulder pain . Twenty-nine patients referred to physiotherapy for shoulder pain were r and omly assigned to a treatment group that received six treatments of soft tissue massage around the shoulder ( n = 15 ) or to a control group that received no treatment while on the waiting list for two weeks ( n = 14 ) . Measurements were taken both before and after the experimental period by a blinded assessor . Active range of motion was measured for flexion , abduction and h and -behind-back movements . Pain was assessed with the Short Form McGill Pain Question naire ( SFMPQ ) and functional ability was assessed with the Patient Specific Functional Disability Measure ( PSFDM ) . The treatment group showed significant improvements in range of motion compared with the control group for abduction ( mean 42.2 degrees , 95 % CI 24.1 to 60.4 degrees ) , flexion ( mean 22.6 degrees , 95 % CI 12.4 to 32.8 degrees ) and h and -behind-back ( mean 11.0 cm improvement , 95 % CI 6.3 to 15.6 cm ) . Massage reduced pain as reported on the descriptive section of the SFMPQ by a mean of 4.9 points ( 95 % CI 2.5 to 7.2 points ) and on the visual analogue scale by an average of 26.5 mm ( 95 % CI 5.3 to 47.6 mm ) , and it improved reported function on the PSFDM by a mean of 8.6 points ( 95 % CI 4.9 to 12.3 points ) . We conclude that soft tissue massage around the shoulder is effective in improving range of motion , pain and function in patients with shoulder pain . The mechanisms behind these effects remain unclear
In many instances , no or minimal attempts to screen were undertaken or reported .
Background Subacromial shoulder pain is a common clinical presentation with much diagnostic uncertainty .
Some of this uncertainty relates to the involvement of the cervical spine as a source or contribution to subacromial shoulder pain .
Currently , there is no accepted method of screening of the cervical spine in the presence of subacromial shoulder pain , which risks patients receiving misguided and /or ineffective interventions .
Objective To evaluate approaches used to screen the cervical spine in patients with subacromial shoulder pain .