Therapeutic effect of remote rehabilitation after glucocorticoid injection in frozen shoulder patients

Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of remote rehabilitation after glucocorticoid injection in frozen shoulder (FS) patients. Methods A total of 63 FS patients who attended Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, from May 2022 to July 2023 were enrolled, and after glucocorticoid injection for 1 month, they were randomly divided into group A and group B. The patients in group A received rehabilitation treatment in the hospital, and those in group B received remote rehabilitation, once a day, 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The patients in both groups were assessed at the hospital before treatment and at 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, and 12 weeks after treatment, including Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain score, range of motion of shoulder joint (intorsion, extorsion, flexion, extension, and abduction angles), Activities of Daily Living score of shoulder joint, and satisfaction score of treatment outcome. Results For both groups, VAS score decreased significantly over the time of treatment (F=175.56, 215.78,P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in VAS score between the two groups at different time points of treatment (P>0.05). For both groups, the range of motion of shoulder joint increased significantly over the time of treatment (F=33.84-483.42,P<0.05), and at 3 and 5 weeks after treatment, group A had significantly larger intorsion, extorsion, and extension angles than group B (F=10.18-47.63,P<0.05); there was no significant difference in the range of motion of shoulder joint between the two groups at other time points (P>0.05). For both groups, the Activities of Daily Living score of shoulder joint increased significantly over the time of treatment (F=76.46, 92.02,P<0.05), and at 3 and 5 weeks after treatment, group A had a significantly higher score than group B (F=43.41, 65.76,P<0.05); there was no significant difference between the two groups at other time points (P>0.05). For both groups, the satisfaction score of treatment outcome increased significantly over the time of treatment (F=8.10, 12.84,P<0.05), and at 3 weeks after treatment, group A had a significantly higher score than group B (F=36.90,P<0.05); there was no significant difference between the two groups at other different time points (P>0.05). Conclusion For FS patients, remote rehabilitation after glucocorticoid injection can achieve a similar therapeutic effect to rehabilitation in hospital, and therefore, remote rehabilitation is a promising treatment regimen.