An RCT in Treatment of Adhesive Capsulitis Arthrographic Joint Distention With Local Anesthetic Alone
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-03-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Frozen shoulder or adhesive capsulitis is a common cause of shoulder pain, estimated to
affect 25% of the general population. Many forms of treatment have been advocated for frozen
shoulder including physiotherapy, injection with steroid, distension arthrogram with steroid,
manipulation under anesthetic and arthroscopic releases. There is no general agreement in
favour of one form of treatment, and the response to a particular treatment varies in
different series. A few randomized controlled trials appear in the literature. Most of these
showed improvements with steroid use, but the results were not always statistically
significant. One randomized control trial reported superior results in favor of arthrographic
joint distension with steroid compared to a saline placebo. To our knowledge there have been
no other similar randomized trials to support these results. The objective of this study is
to determine if arthrographic distension of the shoulder joint with steriods is an effective
treatment modality for adhesive capsulitis as compared to injection with local anesthetic and
contrast alone. The study design is a placebo-controlled, double blind clinical trial where
participants will undergo distension arthrogram of the shoulder and be randomized to receive
either Triamcinalone (steroid), lidocaine and contrast or injection with lidocaine and
contrast alone.