We prospectively studied extracorporeal shock wave
therapy (ESWT) for calcific tendinitis of the shoulder in 46
consecutive patients. All patients were randomly divided
into 2 groups: treatment and control. The 33 patients in
the treatment group received 2 courses of ESWT at the
energy density of 0.55 mJ/mm2 (1000 impulses). The
control group underwent sham treatment with a dummy
electrode (13 patients). Evaluation included the Constant
score, pain scale, and radiographs. The ESWT results
were good to excellent in 87.9% of shoulders (29/33)
and fair in 12.1% (4/33), and the control results were
fair in 69.2% (9/13) and poor in 30.1% (4/13). Among
ESWT patients, calcium deposits were completely
eliminated in 7 cases (21.2%), partially eliminated in 11
(36.3%), and unchanged in 15 (45.4%). In contrast,
elimination was partial in 2 control patients (15.3%) and
unchanged in 11 (84.7%). There was no significant
difference between Ga¨rtner type I and type II groups in
the Constant score ( P >.05). ESWT shows promise for
pain relief and functional restoration of calcific tendinitis
with negligible complications. (J Shoulder Elbow Surg
2008;17:55-59.)
Over the past 30 years, extracorporeal shock wave
lithotripsy has been considered by urologists to be
the gold standard in treating renal calculi, and the
revolutionary method has almost completely replaced
invasive surgery worldwide. More recently, extracorporeal
shock wave therapy (ESWT) has been used to
treat conditions such as nonunion of fractures, lateral
epicondylitis, plantar fasciitis, and calcific tendinitis
of the shoulder. It has shown promise in the promotion
of fracture healing and repair of tendinopathies.
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