Shockwave therapy versus local steroid injection in chronic supraspinatus tendinopathy

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of shockwave therapy versus ultrasound-guided steroid injection in the treatment of chronic supraspinatus tendinopathy. Patients and methods This study was carried out on 30 patients with calcific and noncalcific supraspinatus tendinopathy for more than 3 months. A clinical assessment was performed for all patients including pain scoring by the visual analog scale and full shoulder examination at the start of the study and 6 weeks later. Shoulder ultrasound was performed at the start of the study. Fifteen patients received four sessions of radial shockwave therapy (Intelect Radial Shockwave, UK) 3 bar pressure, 2000 pulses, 20 Hz. Fifteen patients received a single ultrasound-guided subacromial steroid injection (1 ml triamcinolone 40 mg and 1 ml lidocaine). Results Both groups showed a statistically significant improvement in pain relief (visual analog scale) and clinical examination: tenderness, shoulder range of motion, and muscle power. There was no statistically significant difference between both groups. Conclusion Radial shockwave therapy has no additional benefit over ultrasound-guided steroid injection in the short term in patients with chronic supraspinatus tendinopathy.

Keywords

• chronic supraspinatus tendinopathy
• local steroid injection
• shockwave therapy