The Effectiveness of Graston Tecnique Compared to Traditional Physiotherapy to Improve Range of Motion After Arthroscopic Cuff Repair.

NCT ID: NCT05315440

Last Updated: 2025-07-18

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 41 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2020-11-12
• Study Completion Date: 2025-02-21

Brief Summary

In shoulder rehabilitation after arthroscopic cuff repair, one of first objectives coincides with improving the range of passive movement: this process often requires considerable time of both patients and physiotherapists. This study aims to verify whether it is useful to add instruments assisted soft-tissue mobilization according to Graston Tecnique to the classic rehabilitation protocol in order to accelerate recovery times of passive range of motion.

Detailed Description

There is conflicting evidence about early versus delayed postoperative rehabilitation after arthroscopic cuff repair: early protocol seems to reduce the risk of stiffness but could increase the risk of rupture of the tendon in long time, especially for large tears; delayed protocol impose a period of shoulder immobilization (from 2 weeks to 40-day) that can promote tendons healing but could determine shoulder stiffness. Our research question is if after the delayed protocol used in our institute (40 -day immobilization period) it migh be useful to add soft-tissue mobilization assisted by instruments according to Graston Tecnique to the classic rehabilitation protocol of the shoulder in order to speed up recovery times of the passive movement range.

Conditions

Cuff Tear Arthropathy

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

control group

The treatment of control group will be organized according to the classic protocol currently in use in our Institute which consists of:

30 minutes of passive and active assisted mobilization guided by the therapist, 30 min of Continous passive movement in flexion and abduction and 30 minutes of electrostimulation.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Conventional rehabilitation

Intervention Type: OTHER

30 minutes of passive and active assisted mobilization guided by the therapist, 30 min of Continous passive movement in flexion and abduction and 30 minutes of electrostimulation.

experimental group

30 minutes of passive and active assisted mobilization guided by the therapist associated with instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, 30 min of Continous passive movement in flexion and abduction and 30 minutes of electrostimulation.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

graston tecnique

Intervention Type: OTHER

Graston technique involves the use of steel tools that are used non-invasively on the skin to identify and treat areas that have stiffness or inflammation. These areas can be located with greater precision than the manual technique precisely because the instruments do not compress in contact with the patient's skin, as is the case with the physiotherapist's fingertips. Thanks to the instruments it is therefore possible to detect the areas of altered consistency and to treat them by pressing a minimum pressure.

Interventions

graston tecnique

Graston technique involves the use of steel tools that are used non-invasively on the skin to identify and treat areas that have stiffness or inflammation. These areas can be located with greater precision than the manual technique precisely because the instruments do not compress in contact with the patient's skin, as is the case with the physiotherapist's fingertips. Thanks to the instruments it is therefore possible to detect the areas of altered consistency and to treat them by pressing a minimum pressure.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Conventional rehabilitation

30 minutes of passive and active assisted mobilization guided by the therapist, 30 min of Continous passive movement in flexion and abduction and 30 minutes of electrostimulation.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Other Intervention Names

instrument soft tissue mobilization

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• arthroscopic rotator cuff repair
• partial lesion due to tendon degeneration (1 or 2 anchors reparation)

Exclusion Criteria

• traumatic tendon lesions
• associated conditions as arthritis, loss of superficial sensitivity, loss of muscle tone, mental impairment, oncological conditions
• shoulder stiffness before surgery due to calcific tendonitis, adhesive capsulitis

• Minimum Eligible Age: 40 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli

Bologna, BO, Italy

Countries

Italy

Other Identifiers

0002771

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id