Effect of extension on stiffness of the teres minor muscle following extracorporeal shock wave therapy for frozen shoulder: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial.
Shoki Okawa, Issei Noda, Yuki Nariyama and 3 others
PMID 40322579WHAT IT FOUND
Applying shock wave therapy to the teres minor muscle while the shoulder was stretched reduced muscle stiffness more than when the shoulder was relaxed.
This suggests positioning the muscle in a lengthened state before treatment may improve the immediate reduction of stiffness.
Key findings
01Shock wave therapy applied to the teres minor in a stretched position significantly reduced muscle stiffness compared to the relaxed position.
02Deltoid muscle stiffness decreased after treatment in both groups, but there was no difference between the stretched and relaxed positions.
03Infraspinatus muscle stiffness did not change significantly after treatment, suggesting the effect of the therapy was localized to the target muscle.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study only measured the immediate effect of a single treatment session; it did not assess whether the reduced stiffness lasts over time. The mechanism for the stiffness reduction is unclear, as blood flow was not measured to confirm if stretching increased circulation. The sample size was small (30 patients), and participants had varying diagnoses (rotator cuff tears, periarthritis, or adhesive arthritis), which may limit generalizability to a specific frozen shoulder population.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this single treatment session leads to lasting functional improvement or pain reduction. The study only measured immediate changes in muscle stiffness using ultrasound, not long-term clinical outcomes like range of motion or patient-reported function.