Study Summary

Forty-six patients with non-calcific rotator cuff tendinopathy were randomized to receive 4 weekly sessions of focused shockwave therapy (F-SWT; n=23) or radial shockwave therapy (R-SWT; n=23) for the improvement of symptoms. The primary outcome of interest was pain evaluated on a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) at 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes of interest included the Constant-Murley Scale (CMS) total score and associated sub-score (i.e., pain, activities of daily living [ADL], range of motion, and power), and NRS pain scores. All outcomes were assessed at 4, 12, 24, and 48 weeks post-treatment. Results revealed statistically significantly lower NRS pain scores at 24 and 48 weeks in favour of the F-SWT group compared to the R-SWT group (p<0.001 for both). Similarly, CMS total scores, pain sub-scores, and ADL sub-scores were statistically significantly in favour of the F-SWT group at 24 and 48 weeks post-treatment (p<0.05 for all). Moreover, the CMS range of motion sub-scores were statistically significantly in favour of the F-SWT group at 48 weeks only (p=0.035). No statistical significant differences were observed between the two groups in the CMS power sub-scores at any timepoint (p>0.05 for all). In addition, 5 cases of moderate pain, 1 case of syncope, and 2 cases of redness were reported in the F-SWT group, whilst 3 cases of moderate pain and 1 case of migraine were reported in the R-SWT group.