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 .
Extracorporeal shock-wave therapy for tendonitis of the rotator cuff. A double-blind, randomised, controlled trial.
We have performed a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of moderate doses of extracorporeal shock-wave therapy ( ESWT ) for non-calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff . Adults ( 74 ) with chronic tendonitis of the rotator cuff were r and omised to receive either active ( 1500 pulses ESWT at 0.12 mJ/mm2 ) or sham treatment , monthly for three months . All were assessed before each treatment , and at one and three months after the completion of treatment . The outcome was measured with regard to pain in the shoulder , including a visual analogue score for night pain , and a disability index . There were no significant differences between the two groups before treatment . The mean duration of symptoms in both groups was 23.3 months . Both showed significant and sustained improvements from two months onwards . There was no significant difference between them with respect to change in the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index ( SPADI ) scores or night pain over the six-month period . A mean ( + /-SD ; range ) change in SPADI of 16.1 + /- 27.2 ( 0 to 82 ) in the treatment group and 24.3 + /- 24.8 ( -11 to 83 ) in the sham group was noted at three months . At six months the mean changes were 28.4 + /- 25.9 ( -24 to 69 ) and 30.4 + /- 31.2 ( -12 to 88 ) , respectively . Similar results were noted for night pain . We conclude that there is a significant and sustained placebo effect after moderate doses of ESWT in patients with non-calcific tendonitis of the rotator cuff , but there is no evidence of added benefit when compared with sham treatment
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 .