Investigating the efficacy of balance training in patients with rotator cuff pathology

The purpose of the study is to investigate the efficacy of a balance training program added to a physiotherapy program on postural control parameters and health-related quality of life in patients with rotator cuff pathology. In the study, 42 patients diagnosed with unilateral rotator cuff pathology were enrolled. The patients randomly allocated to the control and study group. The patients in both groups received physiotherapy treatment. The study group also completed the balance training program. The treatment period was six weeks. Postural control parameters of the patients were assessed with Tetrax Interactive Balance System, and these parameters are the stability index, the fourier transformation (F5, F6), the weight distribution index, and the fall index. Health-related quality of life and pain and disability of the patients were measured with the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index, respectively. Level of pain intensity of the patients was measured with the numeric pain rating scale. All measures were conducted before and after the treatment. In the within-group analysis, there were no statistically significant differences on the postural control parameters except for three positions on the weight distribution index parameter (p>0.05). In the between-group analysis, there were statistically significant differences in one position each on the stability index (median= -0.48, first quartile–third quartile= -3.96–2.15), the F5 (median= -0.35, first quartile–third quartile= -1.50–0.69), and the F6 (median= -0.25, first quartile–third quartile= -1.28–0.43) parameters in favor of the intervention group (p<0.05), and the effect sizes were -0.38, -0.33, and -0.40, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences for other positions in these parameters, and the weight distribution and the fall indexes parameters (p>0.05). There were no statistically significant differences on the health-related quality of life and the other outcome measures (p>0.05). Adding the balance training program to the physiotherapy treatment do not improve postural control in patients with rotator cuff pathology. Furthermore, the physiotherapy program combined with the balance training has no superiority to the standard physiotherapy program on health-related quality of life in this patient population.