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Calcific tendinopathy of the shoulder is a relatively common condition, characterized by the presence of calcium deposits in the shoulder tendons, which may be associated with shoulder pain and dysfunction. To help guide the most appropriate treatment and future research in the area, a thorough review of the best available research was conducted. Overall, it was found that there is a lack of high-quality research in this area. Based on the current research, high-energy shockwave therapy and ultrasoundguided needling appear to be the best treatment options available for reducing shoulder pain, improving shoulder function and reducing the size of calcium deposits in the shoulder tendons. However, with out further high-quality research in this area, it is not possible to inform people seeking care which is the best management option. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of nonsurgical interventions for rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy. Data sources: Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials, PEDro and SPORTDiscus from inception to March 2018, and accompanying reference lists. Peer-reviewed randomized clinical trials of non-surgical interventions for adults with rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy were included. Data extraction: The same 2 reviewers independently evaluated eligibility, extracted data and evaluated risk of bias of the included randomized clinical trials. A system to resolve any disagreements was established a priori. Short-term, medium-term and long-term outcomes for pain, shoulder function and calcific morphology related to rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy were extracted. Due to diversity in outcome measures a meta-analyses was not conducted. Data synthesis: Of the 2,085 articles identified, 18 met the inclusion criteria, all of which had high risk of bias. Five non-surgical interventions were identified (extracorporeal shockwave therapy, ultrasound-guided percutaneous intervention, pulsed ultrasound, acetic acid iontophoresis, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation).
Simpson et al. (Wed,) studied this question.