Study on the Effectiveness of Ultrasound-guided Pulsed Radiofrequency Therapy for Shoulder Pain Caused by Trigger Points

Abstract

Objectives: This study compares ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency (UG-PRF) with ultrasound-guided dry needling (UG-DN) for treating painful shoulder periarthritis (PSP).

Materials and methods: Twenty-four patients with PSP were chosen from the Pain Department of the Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong between August 2022 and December 2023. They were divided into 2 groups, UG-PRF (n = 12) and UG-DN (n = 12), using a random number table. Both groups received 1 treatment session and stretching exercises afterwards. The study aims to analyze and compare the levels of pain severity (measured by Visual Analog Scale) and shoulder joint function (assessed using Shoulder Pain And Disability Index) among patients before treatment, at the 4-week mark posttreatment, and at the 12-week mark posttreatment.

Results: There was no significant difference between the 2 groups initially. After treatment, the UG-PRF group had a larger decrease in Visual Analog Scale score compared with the UG-DN group at 4 weeks (-1.3 ± 0.4; 95% CI: -2.2 ∼ -0.5) and 12 weeks posttreatment (-1.1 ± 0.5; 95% CI: -2.1 ∼ -0.0). Moreover, the UG-PRF group displayed markedly lower scores on the Shoulder Pain And Disability Index in comparison to the UG-DN group at both the 4-week (-17.3 ± 6.9; 95% CI: -31.7 ∼ -2.9) and 12-week (-17.0 ± 7.4; 95% CI: -32.3 ∼ -1.7) follow-up assessments. Furthermore, 87.5% of patients reported clinically significant improvements according to the Patient Global Impression of Change evaluation.

Conclusion: Both UG-PRF and UG-DN therapy are effective treatments for PSP, with UG-PRF showing better results in reducing pain and improving shoulder mobility.