Backgroud: To evaluate the effects of steroid injection (SI) versus physical therapy and rehabilitation (PTR) on the functional results and sleep quality in patients with partial thickness supraspinatus tendon rupture (PTSR).
Methods: Patients who were diagnosed with PTSR were divided into 2 groups, SI and PTR. The SI group was treated with 1 mL betamethasone + 9 mL prilocaine injection, the PTR group was treated with deltoid muscle exercise. Short version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire (QuickDASH) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) of the SI group and PTR group were evaluated at baseline and at 1 month and 3 months after the procedure. There were 22 patients in the SI group and 25 patients in the PTR group.
Results: There was no statistically significant difference between QuickDASH scores at any timepoint in both groups. PSQI scores in the SI group were significantly lower at 1 month and 3 months after the procedure (p = 0.001, p = 0.006). A significant improvement was seen in both groups in QuickDASH (p = 0.001 and p = 0.011) and PSQI (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001) scores from baseline to 1 month after the procedure. A significant improvement was also seen in both groups in QuickDASH (p = 0.001 and p = 0.033) and PSQI (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001) scores from baseline to 3 months after the procedure.
Conclusions: Both SI and PTR treatment methods improved the patients' functional results and sleep quality. The SI group demonstrated earlier and greater improvement in sleep quality compared to the PTR group, while functional outcomes were similar between groups.
Keywords: Physical therapy; Shoulder; Sleep quality; Steroid; Supraspinatus tendon rupture.
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