Short-Term Outcome of Combined Corticosteroid and Local Anaesthetic Therapy with Home-Based Exercıse Programme in Painful Shoulder Conditions

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combined local corticosteroid and anaestethic therapy with home exercise programme in the treatment of painful shoulder conditions.
Methods: 40 mg Depomedrol^® (methylprednisolone acetate) + 120 mg Citanest ^® (procaine hydrochloride) were parenterally administered into the subacromial region of 28 patients (17 female, mean age: 48 years; 11 male, mean age: 52 years) from a group of patients who have been suffering from shoulder pain for a period of at least two months and had received no benefit from previous treatments. Simultaneously, they were placed on a home-based shoulder exercise programme. The patients were seen two months later and questioned about their conditions. The data were evaluated together with clinical findings based on the range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder.
Results: Twenty of 28 patients (71.42%) reported complete relief from pain, 5 patients or 17.85% stated that they had only partial relief of pain, and 3 patients (10.71%) said that the level of pain remained essentially the same. Nineteen of 28 patients (67.85%) had good to excellent ROM while 3 (10.71%) still manifested poor ROM.
Conclusion: Local corticosteroid plus local anaestethic therapy together with home exercise programme was found to be an economic, effective and safe short-term treatment in the management of painful shoulder conditions arising from certain disorders.

Keywords
Painful shoulder, Local corticosteroid, Local anaesthetic, Home exercise programe, Range of motion.