Efficacy of Rehabilitation and Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression in Arthroscopic Capsular Release for Frozen Shoulder / The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine

ABSTRACT

We treated 26 frozen shoulders in 26 cases separated into two groups by arthroscopic capsular release. Group A comprised 14 patients (male 7, female 7) with an average age of 53.7 (34-78) who underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD). Group B consisted of 12 cases (male 5, female 7) with an average age of 58.2 (41-78) who were treated without ASD. The mean follow-up period was 14 (12-16) months. We compared the range of motion in the effected shoulders and the Japan Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores between the two groups. We also investigated any improvement of ROM one month after operation in regards to rehabilitation being performed 3 times or under 2 times per week in order to acquire a greater ROM of external rotation. Group A led group B significantly with superior clinical results including ROM and JOA scores. Furthermore, rehabilitation administered 3 times per week increased the ROM of the shoulder after one month of operation. Therefore, it was found that in arthroscopic capsular release of frozen shoulder, additional treatment with ASD and frequent rehabilitation with ROM exercises for external rotation yielded clinical improvement in frozen shoulder outcomes.