Journal article

Arthroscopic subacromial decompression for subacromial shoulder pain (CSAW): a multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, placebo-controlled, three-group, randomised surgical trial

DJ Beard, JL Rees, JA Cook, I Rombach, C Cooper, N Merritt, BA Shirkey, JL Donovan, S Gwilym, J Savulescu, J Moser, A Gray, M Jepson, I Tracey, A Judge, K Wartolowska, AJ Carr, P Ahrens, C Baldwick, M Brinsden Show all

Lancet | Published : 2018

Open access

Abstract

Background: Arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression (decompressing the sub-acromial space by removing bone spurs and soft tissue arthroscopically) is a common surgery for subacromial shoulder pain, but its effectiveness is uncertain. We did a study to assess its effectiveness and to investigate the mechanism for surgical decompression. Methods: We did a multicentre, randomised, pragmatic, parallel group, placebo-controlled, three-group trial at 32 hospitals in the UK with 51 surgeons. Participants were patients who had subacromial pain for at least 3 months with intact rotator cuff tendons, were eligible for arthroscopic surgery, and had previously completed a non-operative management progra..

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University of Melbourne Researchers