Physical Therapy Program for Prevention of Shoulder Pain After Device Implant

This is a clinical research study to determine if a prescribed physical therapy intervention after subcutaneous implantation of an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker reduces the incidence of rotator cuff tendonitis when compared to usual post procedural care.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Shoulder Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Exercises

Detailed Description

One hundred patients who undergo subcutaneous ICD or pacemaker implant and consent to inclusion in the trial will be randomized to one of two groups. One group will receive standard of care instructions after implant. These standard instructions include: no pushing or pulling movements with arm on side of implant, no lifting over 5 lbs., and no movements above the level of the shoulder for six weeks post implant. This will be the control group. The second group, the exercise group, will be instructed verbally on a series of specific exercises (appendix A) to be completed at least three days per week for 6 weeks.

After the patient signs informed consent, a demographic form will be completed. At this enrollment visit, both groups will be asked to use a visual analog scale to report level of shoulder and/or extremity discomfort. Physical exam will include the impingement test, assessment of shoulder elevation, and measurement of the angle of abduction at which discomfort occurs. Subjects will be given the QuickDASH questionnaire (Appendix B) to complete. This questionnaire is an 11 item self-report questionnaire designed to assess the physical function and symptoms during certain activities.

At the 1 week follow-up visit, the patient will be informed of their randomization group. The patients in the control group will receive standard of care instructions. The patients in the exercise group will have specific exercises demonstrated to them and written instructions with pictures will be provided for home reference. Follow-up for both groups will occur at 1, 3 and 6 months post implant and it will include a physical exam, the QuickDASH questionnaire, and the visual analog scale. Patients in the exercise group will be asked to complete an exercise log and return it to the study staff after the 6 week of exercise is complete. In addition, telephone follow-ups will be completed for the exercise group at 2, 3, 5, and 6 weeks post implant. Patients will be asked how often they complete the exercises.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 100
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Texas
    • Dallas, Texas, United States, 75390
      • UT Southwestern Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects undergoing ICD or pacemaker device implant

Exclusion Criteria:

• Prior shoulder injury or surgery
• Mastectomy on affected side
• CVA with ipsilateral arm involvement
• Inability or refusal to perform exercises as prescribed.
• Subjects who would not be able to come in for follow-up visits at one, three, and six-month intervals will also be excluded.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: 1; Control group
Experimental: 2; Exercise group	Procedure: Exercises; Completion of a series of shoulder exercises for 6 weeks post device implant

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
to determine if a prescribed physical therapy intervention after subcutaneous implantation of an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker reduces the incidence of rotator cuff tendonitis when compared to usual post procedural care.	6 mo

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jose A Joglar, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2008
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2010
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 15, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 19, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): May 20, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 9, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 7, 2019
• Last Verified: January 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical therapy program
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Arthralgia; Shoulder Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: UTSW IRB # 082006-080