Radial ESWT combined with a specific rehabilitation program (rESWT + RP) is more effective than sham rESWT + RP for acute hamstring muscle complex injury type 3b: a randomized, controlled trial

Objectives This study tested the hypothesis that radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy combined with a specific rehabilitation program (rESWT + RP) is more effective than sham rESWT + RP in athletes with acute hamstring muscle complex (HMC) injury type 3b. Methods This was a prospective, randomized, sham-controlled, single center trial with published protocol, concealed allocation, blinded patients and blinded assessors. A total of 36 semi-professional athletes (soccer, field hockey and rugby players) receiving fees or university scholarships with acute HMC injury type 3b were randomly allocated to rESWT + RP for up to 5 weeks (n=18) or sham rESWT + RP (n=18). The primary outcome was the individual time to return to sport. Secondary outcomes were the individual patient’s satisfaction and presence or absence of re-injury during 6 months post-inclusion into this trial. Results No serious adverse events occurred during the trial. The median / mean time to return to sport was 25.5 / 25.4 ± 3.5 (mean ± SD) days after rESWT + RP (n=18) and 27.5 / 28.3 ± 4.5 days after sham rESWT + RP (n=18) (p=0.037). The mean patient’s satisfaction was not significantly different between the groups. Only one patient in each group experienced a re-injury during 6 months post-inclusion into this trial. Conclusion In rehabilitation of athletes with acute HMC injury type 3b, rESWT + RP is more effective than sham rESWT + RP. Registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT03473899 (registered on March 22, 2018).