Piroxicam versus naproxen in the treatment of painful shoulder.

A double-blind, parallel trial of 40 patients with chronic shoulder pain was carried out to compare alleviation of pain and improvement in mobility after treatment with 20 mg piroxicam each morning or 250 mg naproxen twice daily. During the 3-week study, patients also underwent conservative treatment of therapeutic exercise. Piroxicam was better than naproxen at relieving pain at night, but time, rather than a drug effect, seemed responsible for the improvement in shoulder abduction. No difference between the drugs was demonstrated regarding their effect on pain on active movement of the shoulder and external rotation.