Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To investigate the long-term clinical outcome and to identify factors that predict that outcome, after conservative treatment of patients who have shoulder pain with or without accompanying stiffness.

DESIGN:

Cohort study.

SETTING:

Outpatient clinic.

PARTICIPANTS:

Eighty-two subjects who had participated in a randomized controlled trial that compared the short-term effectiveness of conservative treatment for chronic, unilateral shoulder pain of mechanical origin with and without accompanying stiffness, and who were available for longer term follow-up 6 months after the cessation of formal treatment.

INTERVENTIONS:

Conservative treatment consisting of various combinations of exercise therapy, passive joint mobilization, electrophysical modalities, and corticosteroid injections.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Pain intensity, functional limitation, perceived change in symptoms, active range of motion, muscle force, and clinical and demographic variables.

RESULTS:

Patients showed significant improvement in all outcome measurements in the long-term whether or not their shoulder pain was accompanied by stiffness. Long-term outcome was not predicted by hand dominance, clinical history of the shoulder condition, severity of the shoulder problem, or shoulder mechanics.

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients with chronic shoulder pain, with or without accompanying stiffness, can expect significant decreases in shoulder pain and improvements in shoulder function in the long term after conservative treatment.