Incidence and severity of shoulder pain does not increase with the use of circuit class therapy during inpatient stroke rehabilitation: a controlled trial

QuestionsDoes circuit class therapy result in a greater incidence or severity of shoulder pain compared with individual therapy? Is the incidence influenced by the degree of active shoulder control?DesignControlled trial with intention-totreat analysis.ParticipantsSixty-eight people (6 drop-outs) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation after stroke.InterventionParticipants received either individual therapy or group circuit class therapy.Outcome measuresIncidence of shoulder pain over the previous 24 hours was measured as a yes/no response while severity of shoulder pain was measured using a visual analogue scale at admission, Week 4, and discharge.ResultsThere was no greater chance of participants receiving circuit class therapy having shoulder pain at Week 4 (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.32 to 2.80) or discharge (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.11 to 1.45) than participants receiving individual therapy. Of those participants who reported pain, there was no difference between groups in the severity of pain at Week 4 (mean difference –0.2 cm, 95% CI –3.2 to 2.7) or discharge (mean difference –2.1 cm, 95% CI –4.8 to 0.6). There was a greater chance of participants who had no active shoulder control having shoulder pain at Week 4 (OR 5.8, 95% CI 1.6 to 20.4) and at discharge (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.0 to 13.9) than participants who had active shoulder control.ConclusionThe incidence and severity of shoulder pain was influenced by degree of active shoulder control but not by type of physiotherapy service delivery. Concerns regarding shoulder pain should not be a barrier to the implementation of circuit class therapy during inpatient stroke rehabilitation.