Efficacy of Medium-High-Energy Radial Pressure Wave Therapy on Rehabilitation Outcomes After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Randomized Trial.

In 30 seconds

This randomized, sham-controlled trial evaluated medium-high-energy radial pressure wave therapy added to standardized rehabilitation in 72 patients three months after arthroscopic repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears. Participants received pressure wave therapy plus rehabilitation or sham plus the same rehabilitation. Across follow-up assessments, pain decreased and Constant-Murley scores and grip strength increased in both groups, with greater improvements in the active-treatment group. Range of motion improved in both groups, with a between-group advantage for therapy at six months. The abstract reports statistical significance but no absolute outcome values.

Key findings

• Visual analog scale pain scores decreased in both groups at all follow-ups (P < 0.001), with lower scores in the therapy group (P < 0.001).
• Constant-Murley scores and grip strength increased in both groups (all P < 0.001), with higher results in the therapy group (P < 0.01-0.001).
• Range of motion improved in both groups (P < 0.001); the therapy group was superior at 6 mos (P < 0.05).

Why it matters

Pain and functional recovery are important outcomes after rotator cuff repair. In this trial, adding radial pressure wave therapy to a shared rehabilitation program was associated with better pain, function, and grip-strength results than sham, while range-of-motion superiority was reported only at six months. These findings provide evidence about an adjunctive rehabilitation approach in the postoperative population studied.

What to keep in mind

The abstract provides no absolute outcome values, limiting assessment of the magnitude and clinical importance of the reported differences.