Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the current evidence of the effectiveness of botulinum toxin (BTX) treatment
for shoulder pain.
Data Sources
Ovid MEDLINE In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE,
Web of Science, and Scopus were searched from inception through week 18 of 2015.
Study Selection
Randomized controlled trials comparing the clinical efficacy (pain intensity and shoulder
range of motion [ROM]) of BTX injection to conventional therapy (steroid or placebo
injection) were included.
Data Extraction
Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and full texts. The results of the
pain intensity and shoulder ROM were extracted and presented in the form of mean and
SD. We constructed random-effects models and calculated the mean difference (MD) for
continuous outcomes. A total of 219 articles were identified, of which 9 articles
were eligible for the final analysis.
Data Synthesis
The analysis indicated a statistically significant decreased pain score in the BTX
therapy group compared with the control group, with the MD=1.35 (95% confidence interval
[CI], .80–1.91; P<.001; I2=81%). Patients who received BTX therapy were more likely to have a significant increase
in shoulder abduction ROM than patients in the control group, with the MD=8.02 (95%
CI, 1.17–14.88, P=.02, I2=89%).
Conclusions
Compared with conventional (steroid or placebo injection) therapy, BTX injections
have beneficial effects for adult patients with shoulder pain, evidenced by improved
pain scores and ROM.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
BTX (botulinum toxin), MD (mean difference), NRS (numeric rating scale), RCT (randomized controlled trial), ROM (range of motion), SASD (subacromial and subdeltoid), SB (subacromial bursitis), SIS (shoulder impingement syndrome), VAS (visual analog scale)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 16, 2015
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
