EFFECTIVENESS OF GRADED MOTOR IMAGERY IN PAIN AND DISABILITY AFTER ROTATOR CUFF INJURY

Abstract

Objective: to determine the effects of graded motor imagery (GMI) on pain and disability in rotator cuff injuries. Methodology: A Randomized Control Trial conducted at national institute of rehabilitation medicine (NIRM) after the approval from the executive director. A total n=40 subjects were recruited through non probability convenient sampling technique and allocated randomly in the Conventional physical therapy (CPT) (n=20) and the graded motor imagery (GMI) group (n=20). Patients with age range 25-50 years having history of trauma with positive impingement sign were included and patient with diabetes were excluded from the study. The data was collected through General demographic questionnaire included age, gender, ADLs, Diabetes, Hyper tension etc. Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) was used to measure current shoulder pain and disability in an outpatient setting. Data was compared at baseline and after 2nd week and 4th week. Results: The mean age of the study participants was 38.67±7.437 years. Within-group changes showed that both group improved significantly (p≤0.05) from 0-4th week regarding total shoulder pain and disability score. While comparing the both groups, significant improvement (p≤0.05) was found in as compare to conventional PT group. Conclusion: graded motor imagery (GMI) and conventional PT both are effective for management of pain and disability due to rotator cuff injuries. But GMI was found to be more effective than conventional PT. Keyword: rotator cuff injury, graded motor imagery, pain, disability, phantom limb pain