Doctors at Martina Hansen Hospital in Gjettum, Norway, found that treating shoulder pain with steroid injections or removing calcium deposits did not relieve the pain. The research was published in the journal BMJ.
In calcific tendinitis of the shoulder, calcium accumulates in the tendons of the rotator cuff, causing tissue inflammation and pain. Treatment includes steroid injections to relieve inflammation, as well as ultrasound-guided saline injections to dissolve calcium deposits. In a new study in 218 patients, researchers showed that these treatments did not relieve pain and were no more effective than a placebo.
The results of the study should lead to a review of recommendations for the treatment of this disease. The authors also believe that scientists have focused too much on the calcification itself, but that there may be other disease mechanisms as well.
They also noted that in most patients, shoulder pain resolves spontaneously over time and that exercises selected by the specialist may also contribute to this.
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