Profiling Patients With Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain to Identify Factors Influencing Outcomes with Non-operative Care in a Secondary Care Specialist Shoulder Clinic

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating factors that influence recovery outcomes for adults with rotator cuff related shoulder pain who receive non-surgical care. This common shoulder condition affects function and quality of life, and most patients are treated without surgery using pain relief and physiotherapy. The study aims to identify which personal and clinical characteristics predict better recovery, helping to improve treatment approaches in secondary care clinics. Participants in this observational study will continue their usual non-operative care, typically involving referral to community physiotherapy and treatments like exercise, education, acupuncture, manual therapy, or steroid injections. The study will not test specific treatments but will track patients over six months to see how they respond to standard conservative management provided by registered physiotherapists. Participants will complete questionnaires about pain, disability, quality of life, and personal factors such as age and gender at the start of the study and again six months later. Researchers will analyze these patient-reported outcomes to understand recovery patterns and identify prognostic factors. The study is funded by the Irish Research Council and led by experts from the University of Limerick and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital, with a total participation period of six months.

Profiling Patients With Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain: What Factors Influence Outcomes With Non-operative Care in a Secondary Care Specialist Shoulder Clinic?