NCT05315440

The Effectiveness of Graston Tecnique Compared to Traditional Physiotherapy to Improve Range of Motion After Arthroscopic Cuff Repair.

The Effectiveness of Graston Tecnique Compared to Traditional Physiotherapy to Improve Shoulder Range of Motion After Arthroscopic Cuff Repair.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 41 (actual)
• Sponsor: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

In shoulder rehabilitation after arthroscopic cuff repair, one of first objectives coincides with improving the range of passive movement: this process often requires considerable time of both patients and physiotherapists. This study aims to verify whether it is useful to add instruments assisted soft-tissue mobilization according to Graston Tecnique to the classic rehabilitation protocol in order to accelerate recovery times of passive range of motion.

Detailed description

There is conflicting evidence about early versus delayed postoperative rehabilitation after arthroscopic cuff repair: early protocol seems to reduce the risk of stiffness but could increase the risk of rupture of the tendon in long time, especially for large tears; delayed protocol impose a period of shoulder immobilization (from 2 weeks to 40-day) that can promote tendons healing but could determine shoulder stiffness. Our research question is if after the delayed protocol used in our institute (40 -day immobilization period) it migh be useful to add soft-tissue mobilization assisted by instruments according to Graston Tecnique to the classic rehabilitation protocol of the shoulder in order to speed up recovery times of the passive movement range.

Conditions

• Cuff Tear Arthropathy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	graston tecnique	Graston technique involves the use of steel tools that are used non-invasively on the skin to identify and treat areas that have stiffness or inflammation. These areas can be located with greater precision than the manual technique precisely because the instruments do not compress in contact with the patient's skin, as is the case with the physiotherapist's fingertips. Thanks to the instruments it is therefore possible to detect the areas of altered consistency and to treat them by pressing a minimum pressure.
OTHER	Conventional rehabilitation	30 minutes of passive and active assisted mobilization guided by the therapist, 30 min of Continous passive movement in flexion and abduction and 30 minutes of electrostimulation.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-11-12
• Primary completion: 2025-01-31
• Completion: 2025-02-21
• First posted: 2022-04-07
• Last updated: 2025-07-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Italy