抄録
This study was designed to verify the effects of joint distension in frozen shoulder. 15 patients were served as subjects. After completing history, physical examination and informed consent, joint distension was performed at the time of arthrography. After joint distension, all patients underwent rehabilitation at once or twice a week. The subjects were divided into two groups according to their shoulder flexion angle; A: under 90 degrees (7 cases, mean age: 47.8 years), B;over 90 degrees (8 cases, mean age: 53.8 years). All patients were followed at least 3 months after joint distension and were evaluated for pain, activity of daily life (ADL) and range of motion (ROM) of the Japanese Orthopedic Association shoulder score (JOA score). Each parameter was compared between groups A and B. The Mann-Whitney’s U test and the Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test were used for statistical analysis. P values<0.05 were considered significant.
Total JOA score in groups B improved from 37.0 points to 60.2 points 3 months after joint distension (p<0.05). The pain, ADL and ROM scores in group B were higher than those in group A. All parameters in group B significantly improved after joint distension (p<0.05), but those in group A had no significant differences.
We consider that joint distension is effective for a patient with slightly restricted range of motion in frozen shoulder. For a patient with severe contracture of the shoulder, another conservative and/or operative treatment should be indicated.
