• Aref Nasiri, Maryam Mirhadi, Vahideh Nadgaran, Amirsalar Motamedi, and Maryamsadat Fakheri.
• Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
• J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother. 2025 Jan 17: 1111-11.

AbstractThis study compares the efficacy of hydrodilatation (HD) alone with intra-articular corticosteroid injection (ICI) in treating frozen shoulder (FS). A total of 48 patients with FS were randomly assigned to two groups: 24 patients received HD treatment, while the other 24 patients received ICI treatment. HD involved 20 mL 0.9% normal saline solution with 3 mL 2% lidocaine, and ICI included 1 mL of 40 mg/mL methylprednisolone acetate with 1 mL 2% lidocaine and 3 mL normal saline. Outcome measures included Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), and passive range of motion (ROM) at baseline, two-, four-, and eight-week follow-ups. Both treatments demonstrated significant improvement in the VAS, SPADI, and passive ROM, when between-times comparison was conducted in each group at all follow-up points over the eight-week study period (p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were found in between groups comparison at study end (p > 0.05), with no significant interaction between groups and times (p > 0.05). Absolute changes from baseline to eight-week follow-up were not significantly different between HD and ICI (p > 0.05). In the short term, HD alone demonstrates strong efficacy in managing FS, matching the effectiveness of ICI.

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