Efficacy of Limited Treatment Frequency of Mulligan's Mobilization with Movement for Frozen Shoulder

Abstract

Frozen shoulder is a chronic and most common form of musculoskeletal dysfunction of aged population. The incorporation of joint mobilizations to treat shoulder dysfunction, results in superior outcome compared with therapeutic exercise alone. Brain Mulligan's mobilization with movement technique (MWM) is widely used to treat various musculoskeletal dysfunctions. Frequency of application is one of the important parameters of MWM and it is relatively variable. It ranges from single treatment to more treatment frequencies. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of limited treatment frequency of MWM on pain and shoulder abduction and external rotation range of motion (ROM) for frozen shoulder. MWM was applied for one session per week for 6 weeks to 23 patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder. Pre and post treatment evaluation of numerical pain rating scale (NPRS) and shoulder abduction and external rotation were carried out. The study results demonstrated that NPRS value was significantly less (P < 0.01) and there was significant improvement in shoulder abduction and external rotation ROM (P < 0.01) following MWM. Paired ‘t’ test was used for pre and post comparison. Hence it is concluded that limited treatment frequency of MWM is effective in reducing pain and improving shoulder abduction and external rotation ROM for frozen shoulder.