Subacromial impingement syndrome is the most common cause of shoulder pain. These symptoms are easily treated with Physical Therapy interventions including manual therapy and exercise. Specifically, strengthening exercises for the shoulder blade and shoulder muscles improve both the quantity and quality of shoulder movements treating both the source of impingement pain and the underlying cause. Physical Therapy exercises remain the gold standard for treatment of impingement, but injections are still utilized by physicians to treat these symptoms. A recent research paper examined the benefits of an injection combined with Physical Therapy compared to Physical Therapy alone.

A randomized controlled trial in the British Medical Journal compared these two treatment approaches in 232 patients with shoulder impingement (Crawshaw et al. 2010). Patients were randomized to either a manual therapy, exercise, and an injection or manual therapy and exercise alone. Treating Physical Therapists were able to select the most appropriate manual therapy and exercise interventions based on the patient’s needs. Authors reported both groups improved over time, but no differences between groups on either pain or function were found at long term follow up. Thus, the improvements in shoulder pain and function can be attributed to the manual therapy and exercise interventions. No further benefit was found in the patients receiving injections.

Click Here to Schedule Your First Appointment With The Experts At MEND