The effectiveness of transcutaneous pulsed radiofrequency treatment in patients with chronic shoulder pain

AIM: Shoulder pain, one of the most common musculoskeletal problems, is a condition that can lead to limitation of movement and functional loss in daily living activities if it is not treated properly. There are many conservative and interventional methods used in treatment. Transcutaneous pulsed radiofrequency (TPRF) therapy, which has started to be included in the literature in recent years, is a non-invasive method that can be applied easily and has a low possibility of complications. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of TPRF application in the treatment of chronic shoulder pain. METHOD: After the approval of the ethics committee, patients who were treated with TPRF for chronic shoulder pain were determined. VAS scores which shows pain severity, SPADI scores which indicates shoulder disability status, and degrees of range of motion measured by goniometry were recorded after TPRF treatment in the patients included in the study. Pre and post treatment values were compared. RESULTS: In this study, the data of 49 patients who met the criteria were examined. It was observed that the resting, activity and sleep VAS scores of the patients were significantly decreased on the postoperative 15th day, 1st month and 3rd month compared to the preoperative values (p<0,01). It was observed that postoperative 15th day, 1st month and 3rd month values of the SPADI pain and disability scores decreased significantly compared to the preoperative values (p<0,01). It was found that the preoperative degrees of range of motion for each of the shoulder flexion, abduction, internal and external rotation movements significantly increased in the postoperative 15th day, 1st month and 3rd month (p<0,01). CONCLUSION: It was found that TPRF treatment, which is a non-invasive, easily applicable, repeatable method with a low probability of complications, provided effective analgesia in patients with chronic shoulder pain, as well as improving shoulder joint functionality and shoulder joint movements in these patients. Keywords: Analgesia, chronic shoulder pain, non-invasive treatment, pulsed radiofrequency, transcutaneous