Baseline characteristics by treatment group (training v surgery) among 84 patients with rotator cuff syndrome in a randomised controlled trial from Ringkjoebing County, Denmark, 1996 to 2001
| Characteristics at baseline | Physiotherapy with training (n = 43) | Arthroscopic surgery (n = 41) |
|---|---|---|
| *Information obtained from questionnaire after clinical reappraisal and inclusion. | ||
| ADL, activities of daily living; NSAID, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; VAS, visual analogue score. | ||
| Demographic | ||
| Female sex (n (%)) | 29 (67.4) | 29 (70.7) |
| Age (years) (mean (SEM)) | 44.5 (1.2) | 44.3 (1.3) |
| Dominant hand right (n (%)) | 40 (93) | 39 (95) |
| Work | ||
| Latest job potentially strenuous by title (n (%)) | 29 (67.4) | 30 (73.2) |
| Years in employment over past 10 years (min, max) | 8.8 (2.0, 10.0) | 9.1 (5.0, 10.0) |
| Years in strenuous job over past 10 years (min, max) | 6.1 (0.0, 10.0) | 6.9 (0.0, 10.0) |
| Been at work for past three months (n (%)) | 23 (53.5) | 24 (58.5) |
| Labour compensation claim filed (n (%)) | 32 (74.4) | 2 9(70.7) |
| Treatments within past three years (n (%)) | ||
| Physiotherapy, passive | 29 (67.4) | 24 (58.5) |
| Physiotherapy, active | 17 (39.5) | 14 (34.1) |
| Subacromial injection | 28 (65.1) | 20 (48.8) |
| NSAID | 20 (46.5) | 20 (48.8) |
| Sick listing because of shoulder pain | 27 (62.8) | 34 (82.9) |
| Clinical | ||
| Bilateral shoulder symptoms (n (%)) | 16 (37.2) | 14 (34.1) |
| Shoulder treated, right (n (%)) | 27 (62.8) | 27 (65.9) |
| Duration of symptoms <6 months* (n) | 3 | 4 |
| Duration of symptoms 6–12 months (n) | 10 | 3 |
| Duration of symptoms >1 year (n) | 29 | 34 |
| Constant subscores in treatment shoulder (mean (SEM)) | ||
| Pain, VAS (0 = maximum, 15 = no pain) | 4.3 (0.4) | 4.2 (0.4) |
| Function (ADL and movements) (0–20) | 7.2 (0.5) | 6.4 (0.4) |
| Range of movement (0–40) | 13.2 (1.2) | 13.4 (1.1) |
| Force (0–25) | 10.2 (0.8) | 10.2 (0.8) |
| Constant score (0–100) (higher = better condition) | 34.7 (2.2) | 33.7 (2.3) |