Arthroscopy and Manipulation vs a Home Therapy Program in the Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis

University of Florida

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 4

Conditions: Adhesive Capsulitis of the Shoulder

Treatments: Procedure: Arthroscopy; Other: Home therapy; Procedure: Arthroscopic manipulation

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00160784

44-1997

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare two treatments used for treating frozen shoulder which are arthroscopy and forceful stretching of the shoulder and home stretching therapy to see if one relives pain and improves shoulder motion more quickly. The other purpose is to try and understand what causes frozen shoulder. For this purpose, tissue will be taken from the shoulder during surgery and studied for the presence and level of a protein called cytokine (Connective Tissue Growth Factor)

Full description

Adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder is a relatively common entity which is poorly understood and produces a significant amount of morbidity in afflicted patients. The natural history of adhesive capsulitis is only just beginning to be understood. It is a self-limiting disease, but may take 18 to 36 months to resolve. During that time, individuals can suffer a significant amount of pain and miss a large amount of work. Many surgeons have treated this process with early manipulation with the outcome never being reported in a prospective manner. Some authors have advocated conservative non-operative treatment, knowing the natural history in most of these shoulders will be near resolution. The primary purpose of this study is to examine in a prospective randomized manner the results of continuous non-operative management versus arthroscopic capsulectomy. This study will determine if operative intervention with an arthroscopic capsulectomy can shorten the natural history of adhesive capsulitis, and give comparable results with non-operative management at final follow-up of 2 years.

A second purpose of the study is to try and identify the mechanism(s) responsible for adhesive capsulitis. Recent research suggests that cytokines and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) may be involved in the inflammatory and fibrotic processes. The second purpose of this study involves histological and immunohistochemical analysis of capsular and synovial tissue routinely removed during an arthroscopic capsulectomy. Tissue taken from subjects in the surgical treatment group will be compared to tissue from patients undergoing an arthroscopic capsulectomy for reasons other than adhesive capsulitis (control group). Location and concentration of CTGF will be compared between these groups. If levels of CTGF are elevated in the treatment group as hypothesized, development and testing of agents that specifically reduce the action of CTGF may be indicated. A specific agent blocking CTGF has been developed and is nearing clinical trials.

Enrollment: 58 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• frozen shoulder (pain and stiffness) experienced for at least four months and treatment has not helped.

Exclusion criteria

• None

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

58 participants in 2 patient groups

Arthroscopic Manipulation

Active Comparator group

Description:

Manipulation of Shoulder performed during arthroscopy

Treatment:

Procedure: Arthroscopic manipulation

Procedure: Arthroscopy

Home exercise program

Active Comparator group

Description:

Shoulder exercise program performed at home to increase shoulder function

Treatment:

Other: Home therapy