Comparison the effect of corticosteroid injection with physiotherapy in treatment of painful arch of shoulder

Painful arch of shoulder is treated using both surgical and non-surgical methods. In the latter one, steroidal and non-steroidal analgesic drugs and/or physiotherapy are used. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of corticosteroid injection and physiotherapy in the treatment of disease. In this double-blinded clinical trial, 124 patients who referred to Shahrekord Kashani hospital and suffered from shoulder pain or with having limitation in its movement were considered as the patients with painful arch of shoulder. They were divided in two equal groups of 62. In the first group, 40 mg of prednisolone was locally injected in the painful site. The second one was subjected to ten sessions of physiotherapy for two weeks. The outcomes of these treatments were assessed using a questionnaire including shoulder disability and the amount of pain in the patients, 2, 6, and 11 weeks after the treatment. Data were analyzed using statistical analysis (X2, t and repeated measures ANOVA). The mean age of the patients was 42.3±9.5 years. The two groups were age and sex matched. The pain was relapsed in one patient of the first and 3 patients of the second group. Pain and shoulder disability were significantly decreased in the two groups (P<0.05). The amount of shoulder disability and pain in the group received corticosteroid was less than that in the group subjected to physiotherapy (P<0.05). Base on the results, injection of corticosteroid is more effective than using of physiotherapy in treatment of painful arch of shoulder. This cures pain and shoulder disability of the patients faster.