| Efficacy of Electrical Stimulation in Subacromial Pain Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis |
| Paper ID : 1063-ISCSR3 (R1) |
| Authors |
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Ahmed Ibrahim Rashad *1, Ibrahim Mohamed Ismail2, Tasbih Emad Saber1, Eslam Mostafa Ali1 1Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo University 2Faculty of Physical Therapy, Cairo Universty |
| Abstract |
| Background: Subacromial Pain Syndrome (SAIS) is the most common cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction. Despite the permeating use of Electrical Stimulation (ES) in clinical practice owing to their safety and ease of application, the efficacy of applying ES in patients with SAIS has yet to be established. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to assess the efficacy of different types of electrical stimulation in SAIS. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library were searched for randomized trials published in the English language up to august 2024. The population involved individuals diagnosed with SAIS. The outcomes included pain and shoulder function, measured using the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). Quality assessment was conducted using the Pedro Scale. Results: 13 trials (947 participants) met the inclusion criteria. Eight trials were inducted into the quantitative analysis. The trials encompassed Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (PENS), and Interferential Current Therapy (IFC). When added to conventional therapy, ES significantly alleviated activity-related pain (MD = -0.66, 95% CI: -1.19 to -0.14, P = 0.01) when compared to conventional therapy alone. However, subgroup analysis according to modality evinced that the only effective modalities were NMES when applied to scapular muscles, IFC applied following acromioplasty, and PENS when applied over the site of pain. Adding ES to conventional therapy did not yield additional improvements in SPADI scores (MD = -7.89, 95% CI: -16.55 to 0.76, P = 0.07) when compared to conventional therapy alone. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that ES can be effective in patients with SAIS. Nevertheless, the effectiveness was confined to a limited number of modalities. |
| Keywords |
| Keywords: “Electrical Stimulation”, “Interferential Current Therapy”, “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation”, “Subacromial Pain Syndrome”, “Shoulder Pain” |
| Status: Abstract Accepted |