George A Murrell | PubMed Health

PubMed2004

Shoulder stiffness: diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Pain and stiffness of the shoulder is a common complaint, particularly in the 40-80 years age group. There are several causes of painful, stiff shoulders, but the most common cause in the fifth decade of life is idiopathic capsulitis ('frozen shoulder'). OBJECTIVE: This article summarises the functional anatomy of the shoulder joint, the pathology of the conditions that lead to shoulder stiffness, and methods to differentiate them. DISCUSSION: Clinical history and examination is effective in differentiating rotator cuff tears, impingement and frozen shoulder. Restriction of glenohumeral joint motion, particularly in external rotation, with no abnormality on X-ray is strongly suggestive of the diagnosis of frozen shoulder. Plain true anteroposterior X-rays are important to identify glenohumeral joint arthritis. Ultrasound is often helpful for confirming or denying rotator cuff tears when there is doubt on the clinical examination.

Humans↗

PubMed2004

Shoulder stiffness: management.

BACKGROUND: There are several causes of painful, stiff shoulders--each with a different method of treatment. OBJECTIVE: This article summarises the methods available to treat the various causes of stiff shoulders. DISCUSSION: Impingement and partial thickness rotator cuff tears can be treated by the general practitioner with a subacromial steroid injection. Calcific tendinitis can be aspirated under ultrasound guidance when the deposit is immature. Acute full thickness tears are best managed surgically. We recommend arthroscopic capsular release with appropriate postoperative rehabilitation program for frozen shoulder. With a well functioning rotator cuff, good results can be expected with shoulder replacement in advanced arthritis.

Calcinosis↗

PubMed2002

The Orthopaedic Research Institute-Ankle Strength Testing System: inter-rater and intra-rater reliability testing.

Achilles tendinosis is a degenerative overuse tendinopathy involving the primary ankle plantarflexors, namely the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles forming the tendo Achilles. The Orthopaedic Research Institute-Ankle Strength Testing System (ORI-ASTS) was designed to record objective measurements of force generated with a resisted ankle plantarflexion test. Testing normal subjects (n=6) was used to establish the reliability of the ORI-ASTS for measuring ankle plantarflexion force. Testing patients with Achilles tendonitis (n=5) over time and comparing Achilles tendon analogue pain scores to ankle plantarflexion force measurements was used to assess the validity of the ORI-ASTS for monitoring progression of Achilles tendinopathy. Inter-rater reliability of the ORI-ASTS with normal subjects was excellent, with single measure intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for right mean peak force of 0.92, left mean peak force of 0.96, right mean total force of 0.89, left mean total force of 0.91. The ORI-ASTS also had excellent intra-rater reliability for normal subjects with the following single measure ICC scores: right mean force 0.96, left mean force 0.92, right mean total force 0.97, left mean total force 0.92. The relative technical errors of measurement were calculated from these results, and ranged from 1.0% to 2.7%. Testing patients with Achilles tendinosis (n=5), and comparing analogue activity pain scores to ORI-ASTS testing demonstrated a strong negative relationship between the two parameters (Spearman Rho -0.87 to -1.0, Kendall tau b -0.82 to -1.0). The relationship was statistically significant at the p=0.01 level for two of the five patients. The ORI-ASTS shows excellent reliability for testing ankle plantarflexor force, and appears valid for objectively assessing and monitoring patients with Achilles tendinosis.

Achilles Tendon↗