NCT07203222

Comparison of Effectiveness of Low Dose Laser and Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation in Hemiplegic Shoulder

Comparison of the Efficacy of Low-Dose Laser and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Subacute Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain, and the Effect of Treatments on Upper Extremity Function and Quality of Life

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 45 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Ankara Etlik City Hospital · Other Government
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The primary aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), which are analgesic modalities that play an important role in the treatment of this frequently encountered complication. The secondary aim of the study is to evaluate its effectiveness on upper extremity function, quality of life, sleep, and fatigue.

Detailed description

Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. (1) Hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP) is one of the common complications seen in up to 40% of stroke patients and negatively affects the rehabilitation process. (2) It is also a significant complication that prolongs hospital stay. Therefore, developing effective treatment strategies is extremely important. The primary aim of our study is to compare the efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), which are analgesic modalities that play an important role in the treatment of this frequently encountered complication. Treatment methods used for hemiplegic shoulder pain: Exercises (joint range of motion, stretching and strengthening exercises), physical therapy agents, kinesiology taping, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), suprascapular nerve block (SSNB), suprascapular nerve pulsed radiofrequency (PRF), botulinum toxin type A (BoNT-A) intramuscular injections, corticosteroid injections, segmental neuromyotherapy (SNMT), trigger point dry needling (TrPs-DN), robot-assisted shoulder rehabilitation therapy (RSRT), platelet-rich plasma (PrP) injection, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation ( rTMS), peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), functional electrical stimulation (FES), and interferential current stimulation (IFC) play a role in the management of the hemiplegic shoulder pain clinic. (3)

Conditions

• Hemiplegic Shoulder Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Low Dose Laser	Patients with subacromial-subdeltoid bursa, m. deltoideus, m. biceps longus, m. infraspinatus, and m. supraspinatus muscles (at the most painful point of the muscles) with a 13-diode Gallium-Aluminium-Arsenide laser device (Intelect Mobile Laser) with a wavelength of 850 nm and 50 mW, 4 Joules per day, 20 seconds, for a total of 15 laser sessions.
DEVICE	TENS	TENS therapy will be administered using the TENS device (Intelect Advanced Therapy System) for a total of 15 sessions, 5 days a week, 20 minutes per day, at a dose of 20-40 mA.
OTHER	Conventional physical therapy	Only conventional physiotherapy is planned to be administered to patients.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-09-24
• Primary completion: 2026-04-30
• Completion: 2026-07-31
• First posted: 2025-10-02
• Last updated: 2025-10-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)