Trial reportArthritis research & therapy2016
Exercise therapy after ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections in patients with subacromial pain syndrome: a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in Arthritis research & therapy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01506804 (The Efficacy of Exercise Therapy Followed by Ultrasound Guided Injection in Patients With a Painful Shoulder - a Randomised Controlled Study With Blinded Observer), which is not on this map. Cited by 12 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Efficacy of Exercise Therapy Followed by Ultrasound Guided Injection in Patients With a Painful Shoulder - a Randomised Controlled Study With Blinded Observer
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Addressing Shoulder Weakness in Individuals With Rotator Cuff-Related Shoulder Pain: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis.The Journal of orthopaedic and sports physical therapy · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise therapy for tendinopathy: a mixed-methods evidence synthesis exploring feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Short-term effects of Kinesiotaping combined with a rehabilitation program for rotator cuff-related shoulder pain: a randomized, assessor-blinded clinical trial.The Journal of manual & manipulative therapy · 2025Trial
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tCDS) after subacromial injections in patients with subacromial pain syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Trial
- Can the efficacy of subacromial corticosteroid injection be improved using a single- session mobilization treatment in subacromial impingement syndrome? A randomized single-blind controlled trialTurkish journal of medical sciences · 2020Trial
- Article
- Identifying Conservative Interventions for Individuals with Subacromial Pain Syndrome Prior to Undergoing a Subacromial Decompression: A Scoping Review.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2023Article
- Effects of Ultrasound-Guided Injection Combined with a Targeted Therapeutic Exercise in Breast Cancer Women with Subacromial Pain Syndrome: A Randomized Clinical Study.Journal of personalized medicine · 2022Article
- Dosage of joint mobilisation for the management of rotator cuff-related shoulder pain: protocol for a scoping review.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Article
- Screening of the cervical spine in subacromial shoulder pain: A systematic review.Shoulder & elbow · 2019Review
- Predictors of the effects of treatment for shoulder pain: protocol of an individual participant data meta-analysis.Diagnostic and prognostic research · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSubacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) accounts for around 50 % of all cases of shoulder pain. The most commonly used treatments are glucocorticosteroid (steroid) injections and exercise therapy; however, despite treatment SAPS patients often experience relapse of their symptoms. Therefore the clinical effect of combining steroid and exercise therapy is highly relevant to clarify. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to investigate if exercise therapy added to steroid injection in patients with SAPS will improve the effect of the injection therapy on shoulder pain.
methodsIn this two-arm randomized trial running over 26 weeks, patients with unilateral shoulder pain (> 4 weeks) and thickened subacromial bursa (> 2 mm on US) were included. At baseline all participants received two steroid injections into the painful shoulder with an interval of one week. Subsequently they were randomized (1:1) to either 10 weeks exercise of the involved shoulder (intervention group) or exercise of the uninvolved shoulder (control group). The patients were re-examined after the exercise program (at week 13) and again at week 26. The primary outcome assessed after 26 weeks was change in shoulder pain analyzed using the intention-to-treat principle (non-responder imputation).
resultsNinety-nine SAPS patients (58 female) participated (49 intervention/50 control). At both follow up visits (week 13 and 26) no statistically significant between-group differences in pain changes on a visual analog scale (mm) were seen (13 weeks: pain at rest 1.7 (95 % CI -3.6 to 7.0; P = 0.53); pain in activity 2.2 (95 % CI -6.5 to 10.9; P = 0.61), 26 weeks: rest 5.6 (95 % CI -0.9 to 12.1; P = 0.09); activity 2.2 (95 % CI -6.8 to 11.2; P = 0.62). The reduction in pain was most evident in the control group at all four pain measurements. The only difference between groups was seen by US examination at week 13, where fewer participants with impingement were observed in the intervention group compared with the controls (9 vs. 19 participants; P = 0.03).
conclusionExercise therapy in the painful shoulder in SAPS patients did not improve the effectiveness of steroid injections for shoulder pain in patients with unilateral SAPS and enlarged subacromial bursa on US examination.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01506804 ). Registration date 5 May 2011.
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