NCT05584345

EFFECTS OF BREATHING EXERCISES ON PAIN AND FUNCTIONALITY IN ROTATOR CUFF TEARS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: Istanbul Medipol University Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

As it causes pain and disability in individuals with rotator cuff lesions, which is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain, it affects performance in activities of daily living. Shoulder pain significantly affects the quality of life of individuals. The aim of conventional treatment in Rotator Cuff injuries is to reduce the inflammation in the area and to enable the shoulder to perform its normal functions. Conventional treatment is to restore muscle balance in the shoulder area. Muscle balance is achieved by strengthening the teres minor, infraspinatus, and subscapularis, which are also the humeral head depressors, and by strengthening the serratus anterior, levator scapula. For strengthening, the shoulder must have a full range of motion. In our study, stretching exercises, cold pack, Ultrasound, TENS, wand, and Codman exercises, which are classical physiotherapy methods, will be applied to all three groups. There are also studies in the literature investigating the effects of traditional physiotherapy methods on individuals with shoulder Rotator Cuff syndrome. The benefits of breathing exercises on pain, shoulder joint range of motion, and balance have all been researched in the literature. Increased diaphragm activity also guarantees that posture and body positions are maintained healthily. Diaphragm activity generally alters how an individual perceives pain. Diaphragmatic breathing is a therapeutic approach for musculoskeletal disorders.

Detailed description

Breathing techniques have been demonstrated to reduce shoulder pain and increase ROM at the literature. However, no study has been found on the effectiveness of breathing exercises applied in addition to conventional physiotherapy in individuals with Rotator Cuff syndrome. Based on all of this knowledge, it was designed for this study to examine the efficacy of breathing exercises used in combination with traditional physiotherapy in patients with Rotator Cuff syndrome.

Conditions

• Rotator Cuff Syndrome

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Conventional Treatment and manual therapy	Cold pack, ultrasound, TENS, finger ladder, Codman, shoulder wheel, and Wand exercises, as well as stretching and capsule exercises, will be used in addition to conventional physiotherapy. There will be 30 repetitions in each direction of the Codman exercises. 5 days a week, for a total of 30 sessions, the afflicted shoulder will get 6 minutes of daily US treatment, with complete contact to the shoulder area and at a right angle. All patients will receive manual stretching in the shoulder flexion, abduction, extension, external rotation, and internal rotation directions. In addition, participants will receive manual therapy techniques, including Glenohumeral joint (GH) distraction, glenohumeral joint inferior gliding, anterior gliding, and posterior gliding, scapulothoracic joint distraction, scapulothoracic joint superior, inferior, medial, and lateral gliding. Each manual therapy technique was performed with 10 repetitions per participant
OTHER	Manual therapy and Respiratory Exercises	In addition to the treatment program applied in conventional therapy and manual therapy,, participants in this group also will perform diaphragmatic breathing exercises, pursed-lip breathing exercises, and relaxation breathing exercises. Each breathing exercise will be performed with 10 repetitions under physiotherapist supervision. Participants were also asked to continue the breathing exercises at home, performing them three times a day with 10 repetitions per session for a duration of six weeks.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-10-30
• Primary completion: 2023-07-03
• Completion: 2023-07-03
• First posted: 2022-10-18
• Last updated: 2025-12-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)