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Subacromial Decompression versus Diagnostic Arthroscopy for Shoulder Impingement: a 5-Year Follow-Up of a Randomised, Placebo Surgery Controlled Clinical Trial.

Paavola, Järvinen·Br J Sports Med·2021·70 citations·Shoulder & Elbow
Free Full Text·DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This is a multicentre, double-blind, placebo surgery controlled randomised trial of arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD) for shoulder impingement. It asks whether ASD outperforms sham surgery (diagnostic arthroscopy) and exercise therapy at 5 years. 210 patients aged 35–65 with impingement symptoms over 3 months were followed for 5 years.

Study Snapshot

Design
Placebo-controlled RCT
Blinding: Double-blind
Setting: Three orthopaedic clinics in Finland
Funding: Foundations, state funding
Objective
Whether ASD is superior to placebo surgery and exercise therapy for shoulder impingement pain at 5 years
Outcome(s)
VAS shoulder pain at rest and on arm activity at 5 years
Subjects
210 patients (175 completed 5-year follow-up)
  • 59Arthroscopic subacromial decompression
  • 63Diagnostic arthroscopy / placebo surgery
  • 71Supervised exercise therapy
Inclusion
  • Age 35–65 years
  • Subacromial pain over 3 months
  • Positive painful arc and impingement test
Exclusion
  • Full-thickness rotator cuff tear on MRI
  • Glenohumeral or AC joint osteoarthritis
  • Prior surgery or shoulder instability
Follow-up
5 years (83% completion)
Statistics
Mixed-model repeated ANOVAIntention-to-treatGEE logistic regression

Key Findings

  • ASD was no better than placebo surgery for pain at rest at 5 years, with a mean difference of only −2.0 VAS (p=0.56), far below the MID of 15. The bony decompression added nothing over simply looking inside the joint.
  • For pain on arm activity, the difference between ASD and placebo was −8.0 VAS (95% CI −17.3 to 1.3; p=0.093) — still below the clinically important threshold and not statistically significant.
  • ASD also failed to beat exercise therapy on both pain outcomes (at rest p=0.77, on activity p=0.40), reinforcing that non-operative care is a reasonable first choice.
  • The one significant finding, a 7.1-point Constant-Murley advantage for ASD (p=0.025), fell short of the pre-specified MID of 17. The authors flag it as likely chance among eight secondary outcomes.
  • Blinding held: only 42% of placebo patients vs 39% of ASD patients correctly guessed they had a sham procedure (p=0.85), so patient expectation did not bias the surgical arms.
  • Crossover from placebo to real surgery was low at 9/55 (16%), and unblinding rates did not differ between arms (p=0.25). This undercuts the argument that high crossover proves surgery works.
  • All three groups reached mean pain scores below 20 out of 100 long-term, so most patients with subacromial pain improve substantially without decompression.
Board PearlSubacromial decompression is no better than placebo surgery or exercise at 5 years — the impingement theory does not justify operating.

Clinical Relevance

When a patient with atraumatic subacromial pain and a positive painful arc asks about surgery, this trial gives you the number to counsel with: ASD is no better than placebo at 5 years. The design is the strength here. By using diagnostic arthroscopy as a sham arm, the authors isolated the bony decompression as the only variable and controlled for the profound placebo effect of surgery itself.

The lesson is that improvement in impingement patients reflects natural history and nonspecific effects, not correction of a mechanical spur. This is why exercise therapy performed just as well.

One pitfall to avoid on boards and in clinic: a statistically significant secondary outcome (the 7.1-point Constant-Murley) that fails to cross its MID of 17 is not a clinical win. The authors attribute it to chance across multiple comparisons. The authors go further, recommending we abandon the mechanical term impingement in favor of subacromial pain.

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|

Subacromial Decompression versus Diagnostic Arthroscopy for Shoulder Impingement: a 5-Year Follow-Up of a Randomised, Placebo Surgery Controlled Clinical Trial.

Paavola, Järvinen·Br J Sports Med·2021·70 citations·Shoulder & Elbow
Free Full Text·DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

This is a multicentre, double-blind, placebo surgery controlled randomised trial of arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD) for shoulder impingement. It asks whether ASD outperforms sham surgery (diagnostic arthroscopy) and exercise therapy at 5 years. 210 patients aged 35–65 with impingement symptoms over 3 months were followed for 5 years.

Study Snapshot

Design
Placebo-controlled RCT
Blinding: Double-blind
Setting: Three orthopaedic clinics in Finland
Funding: Foundations, state funding
Objective
Whether ASD is superior to placebo surgery and exercise therapy for shoulder impingement pain at 5 years
Outcome(s)
VAS shoulder pain at rest and on arm activity at 5 years
Subjects
210 patients (175 completed 5-year follow-up)
  • 59Arthroscopic subacromial decompression
  • 63Diagnostic arthroscopy / placebo surgery
  • 71Supervised exercise therapy
Inclusion
  • Age 35–65 years
  • Subacromial pain over 3 months
  • Positive painful arc and impingement test
Exclusion
  • Full-thickness rotator cuff tear on MRI
  • Glenohumeral or AC joint osteoarthritis
  • Prior surgery or shoulder instability
Follow-up
5 years (83% completion)
Statistics
Mixed-model repeated ANOVAIntention-to-treatGEE logistic regression

Key Findings

  • ASD was no better than placebo surgery for pain at rest at 5 years, with a mean difference of only −2.0 VAS (p=0.56), far below the MID of 15. The bony decompression added nothing over simply looking inside the joint.
  • For pain on arm activity, the difference between ASD and placebo was −8.0 VAS (95% CI −17.3 to 1.3; p=0.093) — still below the clinically important threshold and not statistically significant.
  • ASD also failed to beat exercise therapy on both pain outcomes (at rest p=0.77, on activity p=0.40), reinforcing that non-operative care is a reasonable first choice.
  • The one significant finding, a 7.1-point Constant-Murley advantage for ASD (p=0.025), fell short of the pre-specified MID of 17. The authors flag it as likely chance among eight secondary outcomes.
  • Blinding held: only 42% of placebo patients vs 39% of ASD patients correctly guessed they had a sham procedure (p=0.85), so patient expectation did not bias the surgical arms.
  • Crossover from placebo to real surgery was low at 9/55 (16%), and unblinding rates did not differ between arms (p=0.25). This undercuts the argument that high crossover proves surgery works.
  • All three groups reached mean pain scores below 20 out of 100 long-term, so most patients with subacromial pain improve substantially without decompression.
Board PearlSubacromial decompression is no better than placebo surgery or exercise at 5 years — the impingement theory does not justify operating.

Clinical Relevance

When a patient with atraumatic subacromial pain and a positive painful arc asks about surgery, this trial gives you the number to counsel with: ASD is no better than placebo at 5 years. The design is the strength here. By using diagnostic arthroscopy as a sham arm, the authors isolated the bony decompression as the only variable and controlled for the profound placebo effect of surgery itself.

The lesson is that improvement in impingement patients reflects natural history and nonspecific effects, not correction of a mechanical spur. This is why exercise therapy performed just as well.

One pitfall to avoid on boards and in clinic: a statistically significant secondary outcome (the 7.1-point Constant-Murley) that fails to cross its MID of 17 is not a clinical win. The authors attribute it to chance across multiple comparisons. The authors go further, recommending we abandon the mechanical term impingement in favor of subacromial pain.

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