Background and Objective: In supraspinatus tendinitis there is inflammatory and or degenerative changes of tendon. This study was done to assess the effectiveness of ultrasound and cryokinetics versus ultrasound and soft tissue massage (deep friction massage) in patients with acute supraspinatus tendinitis.
Method: All subjects were clinically diagnosed by orthopaedician and were screened as per the inclusion and exclusion criteria. 60 patients were randomly divided into 2 groups with n= 30 each group, Group A- received ultrasound therapy and cryokinetics, whereas Group B- received ultrasound therapy and soft tissue massage. The treatment was given 1 session/day, 6 days/week. The total treatment duration was for 2 weeks.
Outcome Measures: Patients were evaluated on day 1, day 7 and day 14. All the patients were assessed for pain and shoulder functional scale by taking VAS and SPADI.
Results: Both the groups showed statistically significant changes in pre and post values. However, Group B showed greater improvement from baseline to week 1 on VAS and SPADI. After analysis group B showed significance with P<0.001*.
Conclusion: Ultrasound therapy with cryokinetics, and ultrasound therapy with soft tissue massage both were effective in reducing pain intensity and increasing the shoulder functional scale but ultrasound therapy with soft tissue massage showed superior hand over ultrasound therapy with cryokinetics.
Key words: Acute Supraspinatus Tendinitis, Ultrasound Therapy, Cryokinetics, Soft Tissue Massage, Visual Analogue Scale, Shoulder Pain And Disability Index.
Effect of Ultrasound Therapy with Cryokinetics versus Ultrasound Therapy with Soft Tissue Massage (Deep Friction Massage) in Acute Supraspinatus Tendinitis - A Comparative Study