This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow [Supplementary Material]
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Holloway, G. B.
Right arrow Articles by Iannotti, J. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Holloway, G. B.
Right arrow Articles by Iannotti, J. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) 83:1682-1687 (2001)
© 2001 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.

Scientific Article

Arthroscopic Capsular Release for the Treatment of Refractory Postoperative or Post-Fracture Shoulder Stiffness

G. Brian Holloway, MD, Thomas Schenk, MD, Gerald R. Williams, MD, Matthew L. Ramsey, MD and Joseph P. Iannotti, MD, PhD

Investigation performed at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

G. Brian Holloway, MD
Thomas Schenk, MD
Gerald R. Williams, MD
Matthew L. Ramsey, MD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Joseph P. Iannotti, MD, PhD
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Cleveland Clinic Foun- dation, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44195. E-mail address: iannotj{at}ccf.org

No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article. No funds were received in support of this study.

A commentary is available with the electronic versions of this article, on our web site (www.jbjs.org) and on our quarterly CD-ROM (call our subscription department, at 781-449-9780, to order the CD-ROM).

Background: Arthroscopic capsular release is used to treat idiopathic adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) that is refractory to nonoperative treatment or manipulation under anesthesia. The role of arthroscopic capsular release in the treatment of frozen shoulder after shoulder surgery or fracture is less clearly understood. The purposes of this study were to define the outcome of arthroscopic capsular release in the management of frozen shoulder after surgery or fracture and to compare these results with those of arthroscopic capsular release in the treatment of idiopathic frozen shoulder.

Methods: We evaluated the results of arthroscopic capsular release in three different groups of patients with shoulder contracture refractory to nonoperative management and manipulation under anesthesia. The three groups consisted of patients who had an idiopathic frozen shoulder, shoulder stiffness after surgery, or shoulder stiffness after fracture. We evaluated pain, function, patient satisfaction, and range of motion in all three groups before and after the study treatment.

Results: At a mean of twenty months (range, twelve to forty-six months) after the operation, fifty patients were available for assessment of function and range of motion of the involved shoulder. At the time of follow-up, each group had a significant improvement in the scores for pain, patient satisfaction, and functional activity as well as in the overall outcome score (p < 0.01). Comparison of the scores among the different groups revealed that all had a similar degree of improvement in range of motion of the involved shoulder, but patients with postoperative frozen shoulder had significantly (p < 0.05) lower scores for pain (p < 0.03), patient satisfaction (p < 0.004), and functional activity (p < 0.002) than did those with idiopathic or post-fracture frozen shoulder.

Conclusions: Arthroscopic capsular release was as effective for improving range of motion in patients with postoperative contracture of the shoulder as it was in patients with idiopathic and post-fracture contracture. However, there was less improvement in the subjective scores for pain, function, and patient satisfaction in the postoperative group.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Br. J. Sports. Med.Home page
L. Watson, A. Bialocerkowski, R. Dalziel, S. Balster, F. Burke, and C. Finch
Hydrodilatation (distension arthrography): a long-term clinical outcome series
Br. J. Sports Med., March 1, 2007; 41(3): 167 - 173.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JBJSHome page
R. S. Sikka, M. Vora, T. B. Edwards, I. Szabo, and G. Walch
Desmoid Tumor of the Subscapularis Presenting as Isolated Loss of External Rotation of the Shoulder. A Report Of Two Cases
J. Bone Joint Surg. Am., January 1, 2004; 86(1): 159 - 164.
[Full Text] [PDF]