Clinical Trial: Comparison of Exercise Interventions in Adults With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Comparison of an Eccentric Exercise Intervention to a Concentric Exercise Intervention in Adults With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

Brief Summary:

The purpose of this study is to compare two different physical therapy exercise programs in persons who have shoulder pain in order to determine if they have a different affect on pain level and ability to use the injured shoulder after treatment. Both exercise groups will attend physical therapy for an hour,two to three times a week, for eight weeks. The first two weeks of therapy sessions will involve learning the exercises and testing to determine what weight to use during exercises. One group will perform a traditional therapy exercise program for shoulders using hand weights. The other group will perform a version of the same shoulder exercises but with a different exercise technique. Exercises in both programs are part of the standard of care for shoulder impingement in physical therapy but one program concentrates on the lowering portion of the exercise (eccentrics) while the other emphasizes the lifting portion of the exercise (concentrics). Both groups will perform the same warm-up, stretching, and cool-down exercises. Participants will also be required to perform a daily home exercise program of stretches and range of motion that will take about 20 minutes to complete. Exercise testing will determine the hand weight resistance used by each person during their therapy sessions and re-testing will occur every two weeks to determine any changes in the weight used for the exercises to keep them challenging. Pain level, ability to use the injured arm for daily activities, strength, and amount of movement in the shoulder, will be measured at the start of physical therapy and after five and eight weeks (end of study) of the exercise treatments. A concurrent study investigating the reliability of the shoulder motion and strength measurements used in the larger study will also be performed.

Research hypotheses:

  1. Detailed Summary: This study will be a prospective, repeated-measure, randomized clinical trial comparing shoulder outcome measures in adults with SAIS following eccentric or concentric progressive resistance exercise intervention programs. Subjects: 36 persons with SAIS, aged 18 and older, will be recruited from the Texas Health Resources Dallas outpatient rehabilitation department and referring physicians. Procedures: Participants will be randomly assigned to either a concentric or eccentric intervention group. Participants will complete outcome measures for pain intensity, shoulder function, shoulder pain-free active range of motion (AROM) of flexion and scapular plane elevation, and shoulder pain-free strength of external rotation and abduction. Outcomes will be assessed by an investigator blinded to group assignment at baseline and after three and six weeks of intervention. Interventions will consist of supervised exercise sessions three times a week. Exercise progression will follow a standardized and systematic approach. The reliability of the AROM and strength outcome measures will be assessed concurrently using a random subset of six participants from each group.
    Sponsor: Texas Woman's University

    Current Primary Outcome: Change in Shoulder function [ Time Frame: baseline, after 3 weeks and 6 weeks of intervention ]

    Measured by change in numeric pain rating scale (NPRS)score for shoulder pain, change in disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) self-report of function score, change in shoulder abduction and external rotation strength assessed with a hand-held dynamometer, and change in shoulder flexion and scapular plane elevation pain-free range of motion assessed with a digital inclinometer.


    Original Primary Outcome:

    • Change in Shoulder pain [ Time Frame: baseline, after 3 weeks and 6 weeks of intervention ]
      The numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) will be used to assess shoulder pain. The NPRS is a verbal scale used to attach a value to the participants' pain level when questioned. Zero on the scale indicates no pain; one to three indicates mild pain, four to six for moderate pain, and seven to ten for severe pain.
    • Change in Shoulder function [ Time Frame: baseline and after 3 and 6 weeks of intervention ]
      Shoulder function in this study will be assessed using the disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH). The DASH is a 30-question instrument that uses a five point Likert scale to rate the respondent's ability to perform daily activities using their upper extremity. Activities such as "prepare a meal" are rated from "1, no difficulty" to "5 unable" to perform. Thirty is subtracted from the total score of the items with the result divided 1.20 to arrive at a score that is a percentage of 100. A score of zero indicates no disability and a score of 100 indicates total disability.
    • Change in Shoulder Abduction strength [ Time Frame: baseline and after 3 and 6 weeks of intervention ]
      Isometric strength for shoulder abduction will be assessed using a hand-held dynamometer and will be tested in supine with the shoulder in 90° of abduction and 90° of elbow flexion with the forearm in neutral. Resistance will be applied perpendicular to the distal humerus just above the lateral epicondyle of the elbow. Participants will hold the aforementioned position as the examiner applies the force through t

      Current Secondary Outcome: Intratester reliability [ Time Frame: over course of study ]

      A subset of participants will be tested for strength and range of motion outcomes twice at each time frame by the same examiner in order to analyze intratester reliability of the testing protocols using Intraclass Correlation Coefficients.


      Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

      Information By: Texas Woman's University

      Dates:
      Date Received: January 4, 2012
      Date Started: February 2012
      Date Completion:
      Last Updated: April 15, 2014
      Last Verified: April 2014