Is it worthwhile to offer repeat hydrodilatation for frozen shoulder after 6 weeks?

Abstract

Frozen shoulder is a common problem for which hydrodilatation is an established treatment option although the optimal regime is not yet established. We asked 'is it worthwhile to offer a repeat hydrodilatation procedure after 6 weeks?' A total of 36 patients diagnosed with frozen shoulder and undergoing hydrodilatation were evaluated. All patients had an initial hydrodilatation and were offered a repeat procedure after 6 weeks. Of the total patients, 22 chose to undergo a repeat procedure. The Shoulder Disability Questionnaire UK Score and Oxford Shoulder Score were used to evaluate pre- and postprocedure outcome. The mean follow up was 15.4 months. The Oxford Shoulder Score improved by a significant level after both single (30.5-17.1) and repeat hydrodilatation (36.0-21.4). No significant change was observed after either procedure when using the Shoulder Disability Questionnaire UK Score as an outcome measure. The data are suggestive that routine hydrodilatation after 6 weeks is not appropriate and should be instead offered to those patients who can tolerate it and who have not fully benefitted after a single procedure.