The Effectiveness of Training Therapy with and without Complementary Shock Wave ‎Therapy on the Pain and Range of Motion in Patients with Frozen Shoulder

The shoulder joint is one of the most susceptible joints to injury. Frozen shoulder complication is one of the most common symptoms of shoulder pain and disability. Following this injury, the shoulder becomes flat and immobile and becomes inactive. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of exercise therapy with and without shock wave therapy on pain and range of motion in patients with frozen shoulder.

The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design with two experimental groups and one control group, which was performed with a practical purpose in this field. For this purpose, 40 men and women with frozen shoulder were divided into two groups of 13 people with exercise therapy with and without complementary shock wave therapy and a control group of 14 people. Then, the amount of shoulder pain was assessed using a CMS questionnaire and range of motion with a goniometer. Subjects then performed experimental exercises for six weeks. Finally, post-test and pre-test were measured from the subjects. Statistical analysis of data was performed using analysis of covariance and LSD post hoc test after data information collection with SPSS software version 22.

The results of analysis of covariance showed that there was a significant difference between the three groups in all variables of range of motion and pain (p<0.05). Therefore, we used the LSD post hoc test to examine the differences between the groups. The results of LSD post hoc test showed that in all ranges of shoulder range of motion and also the amount of shoulder pain, only a significant difference was observed between the training and shock wave groups with the control group and also between the training group without shock wave and control (p<0.05). However, this difference between the two experimental groups was not significant in any of the changes (p>0.05).

The results showed that therapeutic exercise without shock wave supplementation and with shock wave supplementation can improve the pain and range of motion of patients with frozen shoulder, and trainers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists can use these exercises to improve the pain and range of motion of affected patients with frozen shoulder.