Effects of high- and low-energy radial shock waves therapy combined with physiotherapy in the treatment of rotator cuff tendinopathy: a retrospective study

AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of high- and low-energy radial shock waves combined with physiotherapy for rotator cuff tendinopathy patients.Methods: Data from rotator cuff tendinopathy patients received high- or low-energy radial shock waves combined with physiotherapy or physiotherapy alone were collected. The Constant and Murley score and visual analog scale score were collected to assess the effectiveness of treatment in three groups at 4, 8, 12, and 24 weeks.Results: In total, 94 patients were involved for our retrospective study. All groups showed remarkable improvement in the visual analog scale and Constant and Murley score compared to baseline at 24 weeks. The high-energy radial shock waves group had more marked improvement in the Constant and Murley score compared to the physiotherapy group at 4 and 8 weeks and at 4 weeks when compared with low-energy group. Furthermore, high-energy radial shock waves group had superior results on the visual analog scale a...