Highlights
- •There is low-certainty evidence that higher load and volume exercise may improve function but not activity or night pain in people with rotator cuff tendinopathy compared with lower load and lower volume exercise at 6 weeks to 3 months.
- •There is very low-certainty evidence that higher load exercise does not improve function more than lower load exercise up to 6 weeks, and no data are available for pain outcomes.
- •There is very low-certainty evidence that higher volume exercise may improve function compared with lower volume exercise at 6 weeks to 3 months, but no data are available for pain outcomes.
Abstract
Objectives
To compare the effectiveness and harms of higher exercise dose, including higher exercise
load or higher volume, with lower exercise dose (lower load or lower volume) in individuals
with rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Design
Systematic review.
Data Sources
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL from inception
to March 2019.
Study Selection
Randomized controlled trials comparing higher versus lower dose exercise that investigated
function and pain (overall, activity, night) and adverse event outcomes were independently
determined by 2 reviewers.
Data Extraction
Two authors independently extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane
tool. The primary endpoint was at least 6 weeks to 3 months (other endpoints included
up to 6 weeks and beyond 3 months) and the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development
and Evaluation was used to assess evidence certainty.
Data Synthesis
Three trials (N=283), none at low risk of bias for all domains, were included. Low-certainty
evidence (1 trial, N=102) indicated improved function (20 points [95% confidence interval,
12-28] on a 0-100 point scale) with higher load and volume exercise at 3 months, but
little or no clinically important between-group difference in activity or night pain
(overall pain not reported). Very low-certainty evidence (1 trial, N=120) indicated
higher load exercise conferred no function benefits over lower load exercise at 6
weeks. Very low-certainty evidence (1 trial, N=61) indicated benefit of uncertain
clinical importance in function with higher versus lower volume exercise at 3 months
and clinically important benefit at more than 3 months (pain outcomes not reported).
The risk of adverse events was uncertain.
Conclusions
There are few studies that have investigated higher dose exercise for rotator cuff
tendinopathy. There was low to very low certainty and conflicting evidence regarding
the value of higher exercise dose in individuals with rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CI (confidence interval), RCT (randomized controlled trial), SRQ (Shoulder Rating Questionnaire)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, 2020
Footnotes
Disclosures: none.
Clinical Trial Registration No.: CRD42017077478
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
