Shoulder pain is a very common presenting complaint in family physicians’ offices. Typically, a patient will have had minor trauma, such as a fall, or overuse from work or a recreational activity. Most of these patients have rotator cuff injuries, so we refer them to physical therapy or we prescribe a self-directed home exercise program and the problem gradually resolves. If the patient does not improve, however, should s(he) be referred for arthroscopic surgery? This answer, of course, is “it depends.”
In this issue of JFP, Onks et al provide an excellent review of conservative vs surgical management of rotator cuff tears. For complete or near complete tears in young people—especially athletes—arthroscopic surgery is the preferred approach. For partial tears, chronic tears, and for older folks like me, nonoperative management is the preferred approach. Surgery is reserved for those who do not improve with prolonged conservative management.
But what approach is best for the majority of people in whom shoulder pain is due to impingement syndrome, with or without a small rotator cuff tear? This question has been studied extensively and summarized in a recent Cochrane meta-analysis.1
The meta-analysis included 8 trials, with a total of 1062 participants with rotator cuff disease, all with subacromial impingement. “Compared with placebo, high-certainty evidence indicates that subacromial decompression provides no improvement in pain, shoulder function, or health-related quality of life up to one year, and probably no improvement in global success (moderate-certainty evidence).”1
A recently published guideline developed by doctors and patients for the treatment of shoulder pain gives a strong recommendation to avoid surgery for chronic shoulder pain due to impingement syndrome.2
Interestingly, research has shown that arthroscopic surgery for knee osteoarthritis and chronic meniscus tears is no better that conservative therapy.3,4 Similarly, surgery for chronic back pain due to degenerative disease (in the absence of spondylolisthesis) provides minimal, if any, improvement in pain and function.5 I see a pattern here.
When we talk to our patients who are contemplating these surgical procedures for these indications (except complete rotator cuff tears), we should advise them to have limited expectations or to avoid surgery altogether.