Manipulation under anesthesia for frozen shoulders: a retrospective cohort study

Background Manipulation under anesthesia is a well-established, but controversial, treatment for frozen shoulders. We will evaluate our results of manipulation and physiotherapy in stage two frozen shoulder s . Materials and methods Questionnaires were sent to 65 patients with stage 2 frozen shoulder s , treated with manipulation under anaesthesia between January 2012 and January 2014. Outcome parameters consisted of SPADI, OSS, EQ-5D, pain and satisfaction. Results A response rate of 75% was obtained. M ean follow up was 21 months (range 11-36). The median SPADI score was 11.2 (IQR 0.8-25.2) and median OSS was 39.0 (IQR 30-43). O nly 72% of patients reported that they r eached their pre injury level of functioning. A satisfaction rate of 92% was reported. Conclusions Manipulation is a relatively easy intervention with a high satisfaction rate. We assume that manipulation could shorten the duration of symptoms. However, this needs to be confirmed in a randomized trial with a control group.