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 .
Single-point acupuncture and physiotherapy for the treatment of painful shoulder: a multicentre randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE Evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture associated with physiotherapy for patients with painful shoulder . METHODS In a multicentre controlled r and omized study , participants were recruited with a clinical diagnosis of unilateral subacromial syndrome from six rehabilitation medicine departments belonging to the Public Health System in two Spanish regions . All participants received 15 sessions of physiotherapy during the 3 weeks that the treatment lasted and were r and omized to additionally receive , once a week , acupuncture or mock TENS ( transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation ) . The primary outcome measure was the change in the Constant-Murley Score ( CMS ) for functional assessment of the shoulder , at 4 weeks after r and omization . This study is registered as an International St and ard R and omized Controlled Trial , number IS RCT N28687220 . RESULTS A total of 425 patients were recruited . The mean score ( s.d . ) on the CMS had increased by 16.6 ( 15.6 ) points among the acupuncture group , compared with 10.6 ( 13.5 ) points in the control group , and the mean difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( 6.0 points ; 95 % CI 3.2 , 8.8 points ; P < 0.001 ) . By the end of the treatment , 53 % of the patients in the acupuncture group had decreased their consumption of analgesics , compared with a corresponding 30 % among the control group ( P < 0.001 ) . CONCLUSIONS Single-point acupuncture in association with physiotherapy improves shoulder function and alleviates pain , compared with physiotherapy as the sole treatment . This improvement is accompanied by a reduction in the consumption of analgesic medicaments
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 .