Effect of extracorporeal shock wave therapy on the shoulder joint functional status of patients with calcific tendinitis.
Eun-Kyung Kim, Kwang-Il Kwak
PMID 27799684WHAT IT FOUND
Adding shock wave therapy to standard physical therapy improved shoulder function more than physical therapy alone in patients with calcific tendinitis.
Scores rose steadily over 12 weeks, with no reported side effects, though the study design limits certainty.
Key findings
01Patients receiving extracorporeal shock wave therapy alongside standard physical therapy showed significantly higher Constant-Murley shoulder function scores at 2, 6, and 12 weeks compared to those receiving standard physical therapy alone.
02The treatment group experienced a more significant decrease in pain at 2, 6, and 12 weeks compared to the control group.
03No side effects were reported due to the application of low-energy shock waves in this study.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Patients who wanted ESWT were assigned to the treatment group, which may have introduced bias. The study did not control for the natural dissolution of calcium deposits, which can improve symptoms on its own. All participants received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, making it difficult to separate the effect of the drugs from the shock wave therapy. Dropouts were excluded from analysis, which can skew results.
The easy way to misread this
Do not attribute the entire improvement to shock wave therapy alone. Both groups received the same physical therapy and anti-inflammatory drugs, and the study design did not blind participants or control for the natural resolution of calcification, so the specific contribution of the shock waves is uncertain.