Mid-term follow-up of a randomized controlled trial comparing ultrasound-guided double percutaneous needling versus high-energy extracorporeal shockwave therapy in the treatment of calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff.

Calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff is a disorder characterized by
inflammation around deposits of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals in the tendons.
It is a common source of pain in the shoulder. The initial treatment of
calcific tendinopathy is conservative and patients are treated with
physiotherapie, analgesics and a subacromial corticosteroid injection when
indicated. When a conserative treatment fails, various minimal invasive
treatment options are available of which high-energy ESWT and ultrasound-guided
needling are the most thoroughly investigated options. This is confirmed by
the one-year clinical outcome of our RCT, investigating the effectiveness of
high-energy ESWT and ultrasound-guided needling.

The objective of this study is to analyse the longterm effectiveness of
high-energy ESWT and ultrasound-guided needling in patients with symptomatic
calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff. The assessment parameters are the
functional outcome, pain, satisfaction, work ability and presence or resorption
of the calcific deposits on radiographs.

Midterm follow-up of a randomized controlled trial with two treatment arms:
high-energy extracorporeal shockwave therapy and ultrasound-guided needling.

Group 1. High-intensity extra corporeal shockwave therapy (2000 pulses, 4Hz,
0.3 mJ/mm2). Two sessions with 1 week in between.
Group 2. Ultrasound guided double percutaneous needling.
Both groups will follow a standardized physical therapy program after the
intervention.

Burden
- Visit to the outpatient clinic (20 minutes)
- Time it takes to fill in the questionnaires (10 minutes)

Risks
- There is a theoretical risk of stochastic effects caused by the ionising
radiation used for the radiographs of the shoulder. With a estimated effective
dose of 0.015 mSv this risk is neglectable.