SHORT TERM OUTCOMES OF INTRAARTICULER CORTICOSTEROID INJECTION COMPARED TO NEURAL THERAPY FOR ROTATOR CUFF RELATED SHOULDER PAIN: PRELIMINARY STUDY

Our clinical trial was conducted with two parallel groups in the departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of neural therapy (NT) to corticosteroid injections (CS) in the management of rotator cuff-related shoulder pain.The primary outcome was VAS- pain and VAS-general health rating at 1-week and 4-weeks post-treatment. The secondary outcomes included both 1-week and 4-weeks post-treatment range of motion (ROM), evaluated by goniometer; active shoulder motion includes flexion, abduction and external rotation. Twenty four patients (12 patients per group) were enrolled. The mean VAS-pain scores and EHA measured at 1 and 4 weeks, according to the baseline were statistically significant improvement in both groups (p <0.05). At the same time, when the VAS general health scores were compared between the two groups, the improvement in the NT group was more prominent. (P <0.01). Our short-term results have shown that NT in rotator cuf-induced shoulder pain is an effective therapy