Skip to main content
Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases logoLink to Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases
. 2003 May;62(5):385–387. doi: 10.1136/ard.62.5.385

Physiotherapy or corticosteroid injection for shoulder pain?

D A W M van der Windt, L Bouter
PMCID: PMC1754536  PMID: 12695146

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (182.9 KB).

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Results of three randomised trials comparing the effects of corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy on self reported change in patients with shoulder pain.1, 5, 6

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Results of two randomised trials comparing the effects of corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy on shoulder disability: short term and long term outcome.1, 6

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bang M. D., Deyle G. D. Comparison of supervised exercise with and without manual physical therapy for patients with shoulder impingement syndrome. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2000 Mar;30(3):126–137. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2000.30.3.126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Croft P., Pope D., Zonca M., O'Neill T., Silman A. Measurement of shoulder related disability: results of a validation study. Ann Rheum Dis. 1994 Aug;53(8):525–528. doi: 10.1136/ard.53.8.525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Deyo R. A., Battie M., Beurskens A. J., Bombardier C., Croft P., Koes B., Malmivaara A., Roland M., Von Korff M., Waddell G. Outcome measures for low back pain research. A proposal for standardized use. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 1998 Sep 15;23(18):2003–2013. doi: 10.1097/00007632-199809150-00018. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Green S., Buchbinder R., Glazier R., Forbes A. Systematic review of randomised controlled trials of interventions for painful shoulder: selection criteria, outcome assessment, and efficacy. BMJ. 1998 Jan 31;316(7128):354–360. doi: 10.1136/bmj.316.7128.354. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Hay E. M., Thomas E., Paterson S. M., Dziedzic K., Croft P. R. A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of local corticosteroid injection and physiotherapy for the treatment of new episodes of unilateral shoulder pain in primary care. Ann Rheum Dis. 2003 May;62(5):394–399. doi: 10.1136/ard.62.5.394. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Jackson J. L., Kroenke K. The effect of unmet expectations among adults presenting with physical symptoms. Ann Intern Med. 2001 May 1;134(9 Pt 2):889–897. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-134-9_part_2-200105011-00013. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kalauokalani D., Cherkin D. C., Sherman K. J., Koepsell T. D., Deyo R. A. Lessons from a trial of acupuncture and massage for low back pain: patient expectations and treatment effects. Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2001 Jul 1;26(13):1418–1424. doi: 10.1097/00007632-200107010-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lambert M. F., Wood J. Incorporating patient preferences into randomized trials. J Clin Epidemiol. 2000 Feb;53(2):163–166. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(99)00146-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mulrow C., Langhorne P., Grimshaw J. Integrating heterogeneous pieces of evidence in systematic reviews. Ann Intern Med. 1997 Dec 1;127(11):989–995. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-127-11-199712010-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Thompson S. G. Why sources of heterogeneity in meta-analysis should be investigated. BMJ. 1994 Nov 19;309(6965):1351–1355. doi: 10.1136/bmj.309.6965.1351. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Till J. E., Sutherland H. J., Meslin E. M. Is there a role for preference assessments in research on quality of life in oncology? Qual Life Res. 1992 Feb;1(1):31–40. doi: 10.1007/BF00435433. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Winters J. C., Jorritsma W., Groenier K. H., Sobel J. S., Meyboom-de Jong B., Arendzen H. J. Treatment of shoulder complaints in general practice: long term results of a randomised, single blind study comparing physiotherapy, manipulation, and corticosteroid injection. BMJ. 1999 May 22;318(7195):1395–1396. doi: 10.1136/bmj.318.7195.1395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Winters J. C., Sobel J. S., Groenier K. H., Arendzen H. J., Meyboom-de Jong B. Comparison of physiotherapy, manipulation, and corticosteroid injection for treating shoulder complaints in general practice: randomised, single blind study. BMJ. 1997 May 3;314(7090):1320–1325. doi: 10.1136/bmj.314.7090.1320. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. van der Heijden G. J., Leffers P., Bouter L. M. Shoulder disability questionnaire design and responsiveness of a functional status measure. J Clin Epidemiol. 2000 Jan;53(1):29–38. doi: 10.1016/s0895-4356(99)00078-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. van der Windt D. A., Koes B. W., Devillé W., Boeke A. J., de Jong B. A., Bouter L. M. Effectiveness of corticosteroid injections versus physiotherapy for treatment of painful stiff shoulder in primary care: randomised trial. BMJ. 1998 Nov 7;317(7168):1292–1296. doi: 10.1136/bmj.317.7168.1292. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. van der Windt D. A., Koes B. W., de Jong B. A., Bouter L. M. Shoulder disorders in general practice: incidence, patient characteristics, and management. Ann Rheum Dis. 1995 Dec;54(12):959–964. doi: 10.1136/ard.54.12.959. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. van der Windt D. A., Koes B. W., van Aarst M., Heemskerk M. A., Bouter L. M. Practical aspects of conducting a pragmatic randomised trial in primary care: patient recruitment and outcome assessment. Br J Gen Pract. 2000 May;50(454):371–374. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. van der Windt D. A., van der Heijden G. J., de Winter A. F., Koes B. W., Devillé W., Bouter L. M. The responsiveness of the Shoulder Disability Questionnaire. Ann Rheum Dis. 1998 Feb;57(2):82–87. doi: 10.1136/ard.57.2.82. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES