COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF HIGH-GRADE MOBILIZATION AND SHORTWAVE DIATHERMY ON SHOULDER RANGE OF MOTION IN STAGE II ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED STUDY

Abstract

Background:
Adhesive capsulitis is a common shoulder condition which causes pain and progressive restriction of shoulder movements. Loss of range of motion (ROM), especially in abduction and external rotation, is the main clinical feature during the frozen stage. Physiotherapy treatment usually includes stretching and mobilization techniques or the use of deep heating modalities like shortwave diathermy.

Objective:
To evaluate and compare the effectiveness of high-grade mobilization with stretching and shortwave diathermy with stretching on shoulder range of motion in subjects with stage II adhesive capsulitis.

Methods:
Sixty subjects diagnosed with stage II adhesive capsulitis were randomly divided into two groups of thirty each. Group A received high-grade mobilization with stretching, and Group B received shortwave diathermy with stretching. Active ROM of flexion, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation was measured using a universal goniometer at baseline and after four weeks of treatment. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests for within-group and unpaired t-tests for between-group comparisons.

Results:
Both groups showed significant improvements in shoulder ROM after four weeks (p < 0.001). Between-group comparison showed that mobilization with stretching produced greater improvement in abduction (p = 0.012) and external rotation (p = 0.0002) compared to shortwave diathermy with stretching.

Conclusion:
Both treatment methods were effective in improving shoulder ROM in stage II adhesive capsulitis, but high-grade mobilization with stretching showed better gains in abduction and external rotation than shortwave diathermy with stretching.