Sunday, February 5, 2023

Reverse total shoulder: does physical therapy improve patient satisfaction and reduce instability?

The authors of Active Physical Therapy Does Not Improve Outcomes After Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Multi-Center, Randomized Clinical Trial sought to compare range of motion (ROM), patient-reported outcomes (PROs), postoperative stability, complications and patient satisfaction after reverse total shoulder arthroplasty between patients receiving a structured home exercise program (HEP) (n=46) and those placed on active, supervised physiotherapy (PT) (n=43) in a multi-center randomized clinical trial.

Complications occurred in 13% of HEP and 17% of PT patients. 

There were no significant differences between groups in PROs or ROM at final follow-up.


12% (72/82) of patients described some symptoms of instability within one year postoperatively. 

While 90% (74/82) were satisfied with the outcomes,

 only 76% (62/82) stated that they would have the surgery again, given the opportunity.


Comment: Interestingly a larger clinical trial comparing PT to home exercises has been posted (see Physical Therapy After Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty), but the results are not yet available.

Home exercises have some tangible advantages: less cost, less travel, and greater ability to tailor the program to the specific needs and tolerance of each patient. Offering ready access to the surgical team via email or phone can enable patients to ask questions and to be assured they're on the right track.
 

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Here are some videos that are of shoulder interest
Shoulder arthritis - what you need to know (see this link).
How to x-ray the shoulder (see this link).
The ream and run procedure (see this link).
The total shoulder arthroplasty (see this link).
The cuff tear arthropathy arthroplasty (see this link).
The reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (see this link).
The smooth and move procedure for irreparable rotator cuff tears (see this link).
Shoulder rehabilitation exercises (see this link).