Abstract

Dr. Daniela Poenaru*

ABSTRACT

Supraspinatus tendinopathy is the most frecquent pathological finding under the rotator cuff pathology. Pain and disability represent the main complains. In the acute phase, standard therapies include anti-inflammatory drugs, rest, physical modalities and therapeutic exercise. Failure of symptoms resolution after a number of therapy sessions represents a challenge for the practising clinician. New methods aim at reducing pain and disability, in the meantime focusing on tendon structural alteration. Physical exercise remains an important tool to obtain proper functioning. It requires medical supervision, consistency and an important number of sessions, that may reduce the patient compliance. Combining physical exercise with new therapies promises better and faster results. Studies are available on extracorporeal shockwave therapy, dry needling, prolotherapy, hyaluronic acid and topical application of nitric oxide. Some results are encouraging, other need more validation. The availability of ultrasound imaging helps the documentation of structural changes and the correlation with clinical course.