A Placebo-controlled Trial of Steroid Injections in the Treatment of Supraspinatus Tendonitis

Abstract

In this report of a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of steroid injections for supraspinatus tendonitis, there was no statistical difference in the improvement in pain score between the two groups at 2 and 8 weeks of follow-up or in analgesic consumption. This trial casts further doubt on the efficacy of such treatment in soft tissue lesions around the shoulder. Pain in the shoulder is a common presenting symptom in rheumatology clinics (9). With dwindling resources and lengthening queues for physiotherapy, the use of local steroid injections has become more popular. There is little controlled evidence that such treatment is effective (3). We report a placebo-controlled trial of the effect of steroid injections in the treatment of supraspinatus tendonitis.