Effect of Sling Exercise on Muscle Activity and Pain in Patients with Rotator Cuff Repair

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the effects of sling exercise on muscle activity and pain in patients with rotator cuff repair. METHODS: This research evaluated 20 rotator cuff repair patients, divided randomly between 10 controls and 10 in an experimental group who performed a sling exercise. Both the experimental and control groups underwent transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and performed continuous passive motion. Muscle activity was measured with a surface electromyograph and pain was measured with the visual analogue scale. The paired t-test was used to compare groups before and after the experiment. The independent t-test was conducted to assess differences in the degree of change between the two groups before and after the experiment. RESULTS: Within-group comparison of both the experimental and control group showed significant differences in muscle activity and pain. Comparison of the groups revealed significant differences in muscle activity between groups group, but not in pain. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that sling exercise is effective for improving muscle activity of rotator cuff repair patients.