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CompletedNCT04169880Updated Nov 25, 2019

Effects of High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) in Patients With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

An interventional study of HILT and HILT & EXERCISE in Subacromial Impingement Syndrome, sponsored by Dokuz Eylul University. Completed. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-11-25.

Sponsored by Dokuz Eylul University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 5 years 6 months after the study started (first participant enrolled May 2014, registered Nov 2019).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
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Study summary

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of high intensity laser therapy (HILT) in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). This study aims to compare the effects of HILT alone and HILT and therapeutic exercise combination on shoulder pain, ROM, joint position sense (JPS), muscle strength and function.The investigators hypothesized that shoulder pain, ROM, JPS, muscle strength and functionality would improve with both treatments but that HILT combined with exercise would result in better outcomes than HILT alone.

Read the detailed description

30 patients with SIS will be randomized into two groups. Pain intensity will be assessed with visual analogue scale (VAS), pain-free and normal range of motion (ROM) with goniometer, joint position sense (JPS) with inclinometer, muscle strenght with hand-held dynamometer, and shoulder functionality with Constant Murley Score (CMS) and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) in a pretest-posttest design. HILT Group (n=15) will receive only HILT for 10 sessions, 3 days a week on alternate days. HILT\& Exercise Group (n=15) will receive exercise treatment in addition to HILT for the same duration of time.

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Conditions studied

  • Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

Keywords

  • Subacromial impingement syndrome
  • High Intensity Laser Therapy
  • Laser Therapy
  • Shoulder Pain
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In context

Shoulder Impingement Syndrome

304 studies on the registry are indexed under Shoulder Impingement Syndrome; 55 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 54 across 261 interventional studies indexed under Shoulder Impingement Syndrome.

Browse Shoulder Impingement Syndrome studies →

Lead sponsor

Dokuz Eylul University is the lead sponsor of 252 studies on the registry; 32 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed as SIS (≥3 positive of 5 impingement tests: Neer's sign, Hawkins and Kennedy, Empty Can, painful arc of abduction and external rotation resistance tests)
  • No history of shoulder injury and/or shoulder symptoms requiring treatment other than SIS for the last 1 year
  • Shoulder pain less than 7/10 of Visual Analogue Scale
  • Being able to elevate the shoulder over 140 degrees

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of upper extremity fracture, shoulder surgery
  • Frozen shoulder
  • Full-thickness rotator cuff (RC) tear
  • Shoulder instability, systemic musculoskeletal disease
  • Shoulder pain with cervical spine motion,
  • Having any of the contraindications of HILT.
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Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
30 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    HILT Group

    HILT Group (n=15)

    Device: HILT

  • Experimental
    HILT & EXERCISE Group

    HILT\&Exercise Group (n=15)

    Combination Product: HILT & EXERCISE

Interventions

  • DeviceHILT

    HILT will be performed with BTL 6000 High Intensity Laser (London, UK) which is a therapeutic non-invasive neodymium: yttrium aluminum garnet laser that has a pulsating waveform and 1064 nm wavelength, 12 Watt maximum power and has the ability to penetrate 12 cm.

    Also known as: BTL 6000 High Intensity Laser (London, UK)

  • Combination productHILT & EXERCISE

    HILT\&Exercise group will receive exercise therapy right after they receive HILT. Both groups will receive treatment for 3 days a week, on alternate days and totally 10 sessions. Patients will be asked not to use analgesic medication throughout the treatment period.

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain Evaluation:Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

    Rest and activity pain of the shoulder will be measured on a 10-cm VAS ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Higher scores mean worse outcome.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  2. Shoulder Range of Motion Evaluation

    Active and passive ROM will be evaluated with universal goniometer (Baseline®, Fabrication End Inc, New York, USA).

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  3. Pain-free Range of Motion Evaluation

    Pain-free ROM will be assessed by measuring pain-free ROM for active shoulder elevation in scapular plane with universal goniometer. While sitting on a chair with back support, patients performed elevation with their thumbs pointing up. One degree below the angle where the patient first experienced pain was recorded.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  4. Muscle Strength Evaluation

    A hand-held dynamometer (HHD) (Power track II, J Tech, New York, USA) will be used to assess muscle strength. Before the evaluations test order will be randomized for lower trapezius (LT), middle trapezius (MT), upper trapezius (UT), serratus anterior (SA), supraspinatus (SupraSp), subscapularis (SubSc), infraspinatus\&teres minor (IS\&TM) muscles.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  5. Shoulder Joint Position Sense (JPS) Evaluation

    A bubble inclinometer (Baseline®, Fabrication End Inc, NewYork, USA) will be used to assess active shoulder JPS. The inclinometer will be attached to an elastic strip via a velcro-band and placed on proximal humerus for abduction and on wrist for rotations. Shoulder JPS in abduction direction will be evaluated while patient sitting on a chair without back support at the angle of 100°, 19 internal rotation (IR) and external rotation (ER); while patient lying supine, at the angles of 45° IR and 75° ER.

    Time frame: 4 weeks

  6. Shoulder Function and Disability Evaluation

    The Turkish version of the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) will be used to evaluate shoulder disability level. Items in the index are presented on a numerical rating scale (0 indicates no pain/no difficulty, 10 indicates worst pain/most difficulty). Higher score indicates greater disability. The Turkish version of the Constant-Murley Shoulder Score (CMS) will be used to evaluate shoulder function. It is a 100-points-scale composed of pain (15 points), activities of daily living (ADL) (20 points), active ROM (40 points) and strenght (25 points) subgroups. The total score is classified as excellent (90-100), good (80-89), moderate (70-79) and weak (\<70).

    Time frame: 4 weeks

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Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Publications

  • Pekyavas NO, Baltaci G. Short-term effects of high-intensity laser therapy, manual therapy, and Kinesio taping in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome. Lasers Med Sci. 2016 Aug;31(6):1133-41. doi: 10.1007/s10103-016-1963-2. Epub 2016 May 25. PubMed 27220527 ↗
  • Clark P, Lavielle P, Martinez H. Learning from pain scales: patient perspective. J Rheumatol. 2003 Jul;30(7):1584-8. PubMed 12858463 ↗
  • Riddle DL, Rothstein JM, Lamb RL. Goniometric reliability in a clinical setting. Shoulder measurements. Phys Ther. 1987 May;67(5):668-73. doi: 10.1093/ptj/67.5.668. PubMed 3575423 ↗
  • Michener LA, Boardman ND, Pidcoe PE, Frith AM. Scapular muscle tests in subjects with shoulder pain and functional loss: reliability and construct validity. Phys Ther. 2005 Nov;85(11):1128-38. PubMed 16253043 ↗
  • Turner N, Ferguson K, Mobley BW, Riemann B, Davies G. Establishing normative data on scapulothoracic musculature using handheld dynamometry. J Sport Rehabil. 2009 Nov;18(4):502-20. doi: 10.1123/jsr.18.4.502. PubMed 20108852 ↗
  • Anderson VB, Wee E. Impaired joint proprioception at higher shoulder elevations in chronic rotator cuff pathology. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Jul;92(7):1146-51. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2011.02.004. PubMed 21704796 ↗
  • Haik MN, Camargo PR, Zanca GG, Alburquerque-Sendin F, Salvini TF, Mattiello-Rosa SM. Joint position sense is not altered during shoulder medial and lateral rotations in female assembly line workers with shoulder impingement syndrome. Physiother Theory Pract. 2013 Jan;29(1):41-50. doi: 10.3109/09593985.2012.676722. Epub 2012 Apr 20. PubMed 22515172 ↗
  • Bumin G, Tuzun EH, Tonga E. The shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI): Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the Turkish version. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2008;21(1): 57-62. doi: 10.3233/bmr-2008-21108.
  • Celik D. Turkish version of the modified Constant-Murley score and standardized test protocol: reliability and validity. Acta Orthop Traumatol Turc. 2016;50(1):69-75. doi: 10.3944/AOTT.2016.14.0354. PubMed 26854052 ↗
  • Steuri R, Sattelmayer M, Elsig S, Kolly C, Tal A, Taeymans J, Hilfiker R. Effectiveness of conservative interventions including exercise, manual therapy and medical management in adults with shoulder impingement: a systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs. Br J Sports Med. 2017 Sep;51(18):1340-1347. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096515. Epub 2017 Jun 19. PubMed 28630217 ↗
  • Hanratty CE, McVeigh JG, Kerr DP, Basford JR, Finch MB, Pendleton A, Sim J. The effectiveness of physiotherapy exercises in subacromial impingement syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2012 Dec;42(3):297-316. doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2012.03.015. Epub 2012 May 18. PubMed 22607807 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 25, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04169880
Lead sponsor
Dokuz Eylul University
Collaborators
Scientific Research Projects
Responsible party
Seda Paskal (Principal Investigator, Dokuz Eylul University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Nov 20, 2019
Start date
May 5, 2014
Primary completion
Jan 6, 2016
Completion
May 27, 2016
Last update
Nov 25, 2019

Study contacts

Sevgi Sevi Yeşilyaprak, Assoc. Prof. PT.
principal investigator · Dokuz Eylul University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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