Profiling Patients With Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain: What Factors Influence Outcomes With Non-operative Care in a Secondary Care Specialist Shoulder Clinic?

NCT07360847 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 0254 Prospective Cohort StudyGOIPG/2024/2553
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 150
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Shoulder pain from rotator cuff disorders is common, affecting function and quality of life. Many patients in orthopaedic clinics are diagnosed with these conditions. Most do not need surgery and are treated with pain relief and physiotherapy. However, long physiotherapy waitlists cause delays, and some patients do not achieve good outcomes. There is limited evidence to predict who will recover well with non-surgical care. A cohort study at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital is proposed to explore this. Patients assessed as suitable for non-surgical care by the shoulder physiotherapist will provide consent and complete questionnaires on pain, disability, quality of life, and personal factors like age and gender. They will continue with prescribed care and repeat the questionnaires after six months. This study will identify factors predicting successful outcomes, improving treatment programs to better meet patients' needs. It is funded by the Irish Research Council and led by Professors Karen McCreesh and Rose Galvin, UL, and Mr. Tristan Cassidy, Orthopaedic Consultant. Collaborators include Catriona Foley, shoulder specialist physiotherapist at Croom.

Conditions

Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain; RCRSP

Keywords

RCRSP; Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain; Non-operative; Prognosis; Prognostic Factor

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Pain Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)

  Pain level on a scale from 0-10. 0 = no pain, 10 = worst pain. higher number = worse

  From enrollment to six month follow up

• Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI)

  Shoulder Pain and Disability Index measures a patient's self-perceived pain and functional limitations due to shoulder problems. 0 = no pain/disability 100 = maximum pain/disability Higher scores = worse outcome

  From enrollment to six month follow up

• Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index (WORC)

  Western Ontario Rotator Cuff Index measures the impact of rotator cuff conditions on a person's quality of life. Scored from 0-2100. 0 = best (no impairment) 2100 = worst (maximum impairment)

  From enrollment to six month follow up

Study Arms (1)

Non-operatively managed Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain patients

Non-operatively managed

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

All adults who present to the Specialist Shoulder clinic at Croom Orthopaedic Hospital between January 2026 and January 2027 (inclusive) will be considered eligible for inclusion to the study provided that they meet the inclusion criteria outlined above.

You may qualify if:

• Adults
• Clinically diagnosed Rotator Cuff Related Shoulder Pain (disorder of the rotator cuff muscles and/or sub acromial space).
• Being referred to primary care physiotherapy or other non-surgical management.

You may not qualify if:

• Under 18
• Non-rotator cuff related pathologies of the shoulder such as fractures, frozen shoulder, concomitant neck pain.
• Person undergoing shoulder surgery.
• Neither the patient nor carer can communicate in English sufficiently to complete consent or baseline assessment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Limerick: lead

Study Sites (1)

Croom Orthopaedic Hospital

Limerick, Ireland

RECRUITING

Central Study Contacts

Roisin Cahill, MSc Physiotherapy

CONTACT

+353 858216254; cahill.roisin@ul.ie

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: COHORT
• Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE
• Target Duration: 6 Months
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2026
• First Posted: January 22, 2026
• Study Start: January 5, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Locations

IE (1)