Physiotherapy after subacromial decompression surgery: development of a standardised exercise intervention

This paper describes the development and details of a standardised physiotherapy exercise intervention designed to address pain and disability in patients with difficulty returning to usual activities after arthroscopic decompression surgery for subacromial impingement syndrome. To develop the intervention, the literature was reviewed with respect to the effectiveness of postoperative exercises, components of previous exercise programmes were extracted, and input from clinical physiotherapists in the field was obtained through a series of workshops. The physiotherapy exercise intervention is currently being evaluated within the framework of the Shoulder Intervention Project (ISRCTN55768749).