Effect of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in patients with supraspinatus tendon tear

Mesut Özdemir, Mustafa Fatih Yaşar, Elif Yakşi

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), ultrasound (US), and pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) combination with TENS and US therapy alone in patients with supraspinatus tear. Forty patients were included in this study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups as follows: PEMF (n=20) and Sham (n=20) groups. PEMF was applied to the first group at a frequency of 50 Hz, 25 G intensity, and 20 min/session. The device was turned off while PEMF was applied to the second group. Diathermy (US) and electrotherapy (TENS) were applied to both groups for 10 sessions. Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Scale, and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) were used as outcome measures. In both groups, there was a significant improvement in the NRS, UCLA Shoulder Scale, and SPADI scores after treatment compared with pretreatment (p<0.05). In the comparison of the difference between the pretreatment and posttreatment measurement values between the groups, no significant difference was found between PEMF and Sham groups according to the NRS (p=0.165), UCLA Shoulder Scale (p=0.141), and SPADI (p=0.839) scores. In our study, a combination of PEMF therapy with conventional physical therapy modalities was not found to be superior to the conventional therapy alone, and adding it to the routine treatment of symptomatic supraspinatus tear would not provide any additional benefit.