Comparison of Mobilisation with Movement and Cryotherapy in Shoulder Impingement Syndrome-A Randomised Clinical Trial

Abstract

Introduction: Shoulder Impingement Syndrome (SIS) is one of the common cause of shoulder ailment which leads to pain and restriction of the movements. Though Mobilisation with Movement and cryotherapy, both are found to be effective in managing SIS, there is no comparison done between the two treatments. Aim: To compare the effectiveness of Mobilisation With Movement (MWM) and cryotherapy in SIS. Materials and Methods: A randomised clinical trial was conducted on 22 subjects who aged between 18-64 years, and those who had a positive painful arc, three positive tests out of five i.e., Neer’s Impingement, Hawkin’s Kennedy, Jobe’s, Speed and Gerber test. These subjects were randomised using block randomisation method and allocated to one of the two groups receiving treatment of MWM or cryotherapy, along with impairment based exercises for six sessions. Outcome measures included reporting of pain on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Range of Motion (ROM) and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). A blinded assessor inscribed the outcome measures prior to the intervention, immediately after the intervention on the first day (except SPADI) and also on the sixth-day posts the intervention. The data were analysed using Wilcoxon Signed-rank test for within the group analysis and Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse data between the groups. Results: There was a significant reduction in pain and disability scores and improvement in ROM in both the groups after six treatment sessions (p<0.05). There was also an immediate improvement in pain and ROM in MWM group. Conclusion: There was an improvement in pain and ROM immediately after the application of MWM. However, there was no significant difference between MWM and cryotherapy at the end of six sessions.