Exercise for rotator cuff tendinopathy

Rotator cuff tendinopathy is among the main causes of shoulder pain. It is characterized by lesions without rupture caused by overload, work-related repetitive strain injury, or metabolic changes such as diabetes affecting one or more tendons, which cause pain, morphological alterations, and disability. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exercise-based therapy on shoulder pain reduction and functioning improvement in patients with rotator cuff tendinopathy. This was a systematic review. Data were collected from randomized controlled trials retrieved from PubMed, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, PEDro, Web of Science, Scopus, and CENTRAL metasearch engines. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the selected studies. Eccentric exercise, conventional exercise, scapular and rotator cuff muscle strengthening, rotator cuff strengthening plus pectoralis major strengthening, high-load training, and low-load training were effective for the outcomes investigated in this study. Furthermore, goniometry, visual analogue scales, the Constant Murley score, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire, and the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index were constantly used to measure pain and functioning. Therapeutic exercises should be performed in this population, and new randomized controlled trials should be conducted with the goal of achieving the same outcome. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health should be increasingly used in studies addressing patient functioning.