Demographic and clinical characteristics of oral prednisolone and placebo groups at baseline
| Variable | Oral prednisolone (n = 24) | Placebo (n = 25) |
|---|---|---|
| Values are mean (SD), n, or n (%). | ||
| SPADI, shoulder pain and disability index. | ||
| Age (years) | 53.5 (5.1) | 55.0 (9.0) |
| Female | 20 (83.3%) | 15 (60.0%) |
| History of shoulder trauma | 5 (21.7%) | 4 (16.0%) |
| Left shoulder affected | 12 (52.2%) | 14 (56.0%) |
| Previous treatment for shoulder pain | ||
| Steroid injections | 3 | 4 |
| Hydrodilatation | 3 | 1 |
| Physiotherapy | 2 | 3 |
| Manipulation under anaesthesia | 0 | 1 |
| Duration of symptoms (weeks) | 25.5 (13.3) | 21.1 (13.8) |
| Severity (out of 10) | 7.7 (1.5) | 7.4 (1.8) |
| SPADI score (0–100) | 64.7 (14.1) | 60.5 (19.3) |
| Croft score (0–21) | 12.8 (4.1) | 11.5 (3.6) |
| Problem elicitation technique score (0–∞) | 160.0 (71.5) | 158.7 (76.7) |
| Pain score (0–10) | ||
| Overall | 7.3 (1.4) | 6.8 (1.8) |
| At night | 7.5 (2.3) | 6.8 (2.1) |
| During activity | 7.9 (1.4) | 7.9 (1.4) |
| DASH (0–100) | 45.0 (16.0) | 40.2 (17.5) |
| HAQ disability (0–3) | 1.4 (0.9) | 1.1 (0.6) |
| Range of motion (degrees) | ||
| Total shoulder flexion | 82.9 (29.4) | 93.2 (29.5) |
| Total shoulder abduction | 60.0 (26.0) | 70.2 (25.3) |
| External rotation in neutral | 27.3 (22.8) | 30.0 (28.9) |
| Hand behind back | 18.0 (2.3) | 18.5 (1.1) |
| SF-36 | ||
| Physical function | 57.7 (21.0) | 60.4 (22.8) |
| Role physical | 25.0 (38.3) | 27.0 (35.3) |
| Bodily pain | 31.7 (16.1) | 37.1 (18.6) |
| General health | 65.8 (22.0) | 68.6 (18.9) |
| Vitality | 42.0 (26.3) | 46.4 (18.0) |
| Social function | 72.0 (26.1) | 67.5 (29.1) |
| Role emotion | 51.3 (47.1) | 62.6 (42.3) |
| Mental health | 63.3 (17.6) | 64.8 (21.2) |