The efficiency of medical exercise therapy and conventional physiotherapy is shown. Leaving patients with chronic low back pain untampered poses a risk of worsening the disability, resulting in longer periods of sick leave.
In subjects with long-term subacromial pain syndrome, HD medical exercise therapy is superior to a conventional LD exercise programme. For clinicians to obtain similar positive results with HD medical exercise therapy, factors such as good communication skills, constant close personal supervision during exercise treatment and having from three to five subjects in a group setting are important.
Objectives:The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effect of medical exercise therapy in shoulder impingement patients, along with possible correlations between impairment variables.Study Design:A prospective unblended randomized clinical trial.Methods:Over four months, 61 participants were randomly assigned into a high-graded exercise therapy group (HD) (n=31) and into a low-graded exercise therapy group (LD) (n=30). Prognostic variables were similar between the groups at baseline. Five (8%) patients dropped out during the treatment period, and another four (6%) dropped out before followup. Pain was a composite score of a visual analogue scale (VAS). Isometric strength was measured during four resisted break tests on the shoulder. Function was measured by means of a functional assessment questionnaire (Shoulder Rating Questionnaire, SRQ). Both groups trained three times per week for twelve weeks, with tests pre- and posttraining and six months follow-up.Results:The HD group achieved significantly (p < 0.05) better outcome effects than the LD group for pain, range of motion, isometric functional strength and function, but both groups increased function from pretest to posttest.Conclusions:In patients with uncomplicated subacromial pain syndrome, medical exercise therapy is an efficient treatment alternative, where high-grade doses should be emphasized. A major limitation is that the measurements were not undertaken by another person than the treating physiotherapists.
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