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 JUNE 30, 2009 Nonsurgical Treatment May Ease Rotator Cuff Tendinitis If you have rotator cuff tendinitis due to calcium deposits, a short, effective, minimally invasive procedure may be able to reduce your pain and restore your shoulder mobility. Small calcium deposits in the rotator cuff tendons of the shoulder are known as calcific tendinitis. This condition mostly affects those who are age 40 and up who participate in overhead sports, such as tennis, volleyball, and swimming, and is more common in women than men. About a dozen years ago, researchers developed an ultrasound-guided percutaneous (through the skin) technique to break up these small calcium deposits using saline injections. Calcium deposits do respond to these injections, as we've noted in a previous feature. Please see Calcium Deposits Respond to Injections. Now Italian researchers at the University of Milan School of Medicine have conducted a controlled trial lending further proof to the benefit of this therapy. Their study of 287 patients with calcific tendinitis included 219 patients who received treatment and 68 patients who acted as a control group and did not receive treatment. During the 20-minute procedure, a radiologist used ultrasound guidance to inject a saline solution into the rotator cuff with one needle to break up the calcium deposits and used another needle to remove the dissolved calcium. The treated patients said they felt a considerable reduction in pain and improved mobility after one month, three months, and one year compared to the controls. After five and 10 years, both groups of patients had similar improvement, the researchers report in the July issue of the journal Radiology. "The two-needle technique for percutaneous ultrasound-guided treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendinitis proved to be an effective, quick, and low-cost therapy that provided prompt long-standing recovery of shoulder function," the authors state. If you have mild symptoms of calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff, physical therapy or a short-course of anti-inflammatory drugs may be all you need to reduce your symptoms until the calcium deposits break apart on their own. Shockwave therapy or arthroscopic surgery may also remove small calcium deposits. Larger deposits may require open surgery, which means a hospital stay and rehabilitation. |
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