Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

In recent literature, exercise therapy has an important role in achieving improvements in muscle strength and flexibility and optimizing coordinative patterns of the scapular and rotator cuff musculature in patients with Subacromial Impingement Syndrome (SIS). It is generally believed that the addition of manual therapy directed at influencing structural components of the shoulder girdle and spine results in an even more effective treatment. 

The current RCT compared the effects of individually adapted exercises and individualized manual therapy (IAEX+IMPT) vs. an individualized exercise programme alone (IAEX) among 90 patients with SIS. Outcome measures included the SPADI, Patient’s Global Impression of Change, the Generic Patient-Specific Scale, the mean weekly pain score and Patients’ Satisfaction with Treatment. 

It was found that both groups improved significantly during the 12-week intervention period, but that no additional treatment effect was present in the group receiving both IAEX+IMPT, except for a small extra benefit in weekly pain at evaluation after 5 weeks. More research is needed to investigate the optimal composition of exercise programmes for SIS. > From: Kromer et al., J Rehabil Med 45 (2013) 488-497. All rights reserved to The Author(s).