Shoulder Surgery Traditional vs Accelerated Rehabilitation Trial

Launched by MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST · Apr 10, 2019

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying two different rehabilitation approaches for patients who have had surgery to repair a rotator cuff tear in the shoulder. After the surgery, participants will be randomly assigned to either a standard rehabilitation program, which requires using a sling for six weeks and includes a set exercise plan, or an accelerated rehabilitation program that allows them to skip the sling and start exercises right away. The goal is to see if there's any difference in recovery and shoulder function between the two groups after six months.

To be eligible for this trial, participants should be adults over 40 years old with a specific type of rotator cuff tear. Some people may not qualify if they have other serious shoulder problems or cannot follow post-surgery instructions. Throughout the study, patients will be monitored for pain, shoulder movement, and overall recovery, and they will have an MRI scan six months after surgery to check how well the repair has held up. This trial is important because it could help determine the best way to rehabilitate after shoulder surgery, potentially leading to better outcomes for patients.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Adults aged over 40 with a degenerate full-thickness posterosuperior rotator cuff tear undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (+/- concomitant procedures such as biceps tenotomy and subacromial decompression).
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Other musculoskeletal disease affecting same limb
• • Massive rotator cuff tear
• • Subscapularis tear
• • Incomplete cuff repair
• • Repair under tension
• • Non-English speaker
• • Inability to follow postoperative instructions / restrictions