Effect of sensorimotor training on pain, disability, kinesiophobia and quality of life in frozen shoulder: an open-label randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the additional effect of sensorimotor training combined with flexibility and strength-focused therapy on pain, disability, kinesiophobia, pain catastrophizing, and quality of life in patients with primary frozen shoulder. METHODS: An open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted in 30 volunteers with primary frozen shoulder. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups (Group A: sensorimotor training with flexibility & strength-focused therapy; Group B: flexibility & strength focused therapy alone). Intervention was given for 6 weeks, three times a week. Outcome measures included Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), and Short Form-36 (SF-36) pre- and post-intervention. Within- and between-group comparisons were performed using paired and independent t-tests, respectively. RESULTS: < 0.05) in both groups. Moreover, the experimental group demonstrated significantly greater improvements compared to the control group. Effect sizes for all outcomes were large (≥0.8) except for the SF-36 MCS, which was medium (0.76). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that adding sensorimotor training to flexibility and strength-focused therapy provide additional benefits in reducing pain, pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, and disability and improving quality of life compared with flexibility and strength-focused therapy alone in patients with primary frozen shoulder. CLINICAL TRIAL PROTOCOL NUMBER: The study is registered in the Clinical Trials Registry of India, Reference No: CTRI/2023/11/060061.