Self-Management for Persistent Subacromial Pain

Adherence to Self-managed Exercises for Patients With Persistent Subacromial Pain: A Feasibility Study for the Ad-Shoulder Trial

Physiotherapy-led exercises is the first line treatment for patients with subacromial pain. However, current evidence report that most treatment programmes only show a short-term benefit. There seem to be a potential for enhancing the effectiveness of exercise interventions by improving adherence to self-managed exercises, but there is lack of knowledge about adherence to exercise programmes in shoulder pain. Before conducting a planned randomised controlled trial on the clinical effectiveness of an intervention focusing on adherence to a self-managed exercise strategy (the Ad-Shoulder intervention), it is necessary to run a feasibility study in order to establish whether such a resource-demanding trial is worthwhile. Feasibility studies are designed to answer the key question "Can it work?" The main objectives of the present study was to assess the feasibility in terms of recruitment capability, data collection procedures and acceptability of the Ad-Shoulder intervention in patients with subacromial pain receiving treatment in primary or secondary health care.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Pain located to the upper arm
• Had previously received conservative treatment due to subacromial pain
• Still seek primary or secondary care during the past 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

• Frozen shoulder diagnosis (<50% external rotation compared to contralateral side)
• Patients who have received surgical treatment due to shoulder problems
• Pregnant patients
• Patients with insufficient Norwegian language skills
• Serious psychiatric disorder