The effect of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy on scapulohumeral periarthritis in the elderly / 中华老年医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the clinical efficacy of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy(ESWT)for scapulohumeral periarthritis in the elderly.Methods:A total of 82 patients diagnosed with scapulohumeral periarthritis at the rehabilitation medicine department of our hospital from July 2016 to January 2019 were retrospectively analyzed.The visual analogue score(VAS), Constant-Murley score(CMS), range of motion(ROM), adverse reactions, curative effectiveness and survival analysis were examined before treatment and at several time points within 6 months of treatment.Results:Compared with pre-treatment, the VAS, CMS, ROM, curative effects and survival analysis of patients with primary and secondary scapulohumeral periarthritis improved after treatment in both the conventional rehabilitation therapy group and the conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with ESWT group(all P<0.05). The short-term effects(2 weeks and 1 month after treatment)were better in the conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with ESWT group than in the conventional rehabilitation therapy group( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in long-term effects(2, 4 and 6 months after treatment)between the two groups( P>0.05). For patients with primary scapulohumeral periarthritis, conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with ESWT had advantages over conventional rehabilitation therapy in reducing the VAS score and improving shoulder function(CMS score and ROM)( P<0.05). For patients with secondary scapulohumeral periarthritis, conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with ESWT was better in reducing VAS than conventional rehabilitation therapy( P<0.05), while there was no significant difference in shoulder function improvement between the two groups(all P>0.05). Conclusions:Conventional rehabilitation combined with ESWT can relieve shoulder pain, improve range of motion and has a good safety profile in the treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis in the elderly, but there is no significant difference in long-term efficacy between conventional rehabilitation therapy and conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with ESWT.