Reducing Shoulder Complaints in Employees with High Occupational Shoulder Exposures: A Cluster-Randomised Controlled Study (The Shoulder-Café Study).

PURPOSE: To evaluate if a group-based Shoulder-Café intervention could reduce shoulder complaints more effectively than an individual-based control intervention in employees with shoulder complaints and high occupational shoulder exposures. METHODS: A cluster-randomised controlled study of 109 participants from 60 companies in Central Denmark Region. Companies were randomised and allocated to either Shoulder-Café or control intervention. Participants in both interventions received a pamphlet on home-based shoulder exercises and a pamphlet with general information on reducing occupational shoulder exposures. They also had their occupational shoulder exposures assessed. Shoulder-Café participants additionally received three café-meetings with casual discussion, clinical shoulder evaluation, education about shoulder anatomy and occupational shoulder exposures, supervised exercises, workplace-oriented counselling, and an optional workplace visit. The primary outcome measure was the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) at 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcome measures were the OSS at 12 months, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire - Physical Activity at 6 and 12 months, and Patients' Global Impression of Change at 6 months. The study also included seven supplementary outcome measures. RESULTS: Both groups improved from baseline to 6 months with respect to the primary outcome (P < 0.01). No group differences were found for the primary outcome (mean difference (MD) [95% confidence interval]: 0.3 [- 1.6; 2.2]) or secondary outcomes. The supplementary outcomes "felt informed about handling shoulder complaints" and "felt informed about reducing occupational exposures" at 6 months, and "Patients' Global Impression of Change" and "overall satisfaction" at 12 months favoured the Shoulder-Café intervention. CONCLUSION: The Shoulder-Café intervention did not reduce shoulder complaints more effectively than the control intervention. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov on 19 May 2017 (ID: NCT03159910).