Clinical efficacy of infrared polarized light in the treatment of frozen shoulder

Objective To evaluate the clinical effect of infrared polarized light irradiation in the treatment of frozen shoulder. Methods A total of 150 patients with frozen shoulder who were treated in the rehabilitation department of Tianjin People's Hospital from October 2015 to December 2018 were randomly divided into a control group (75 cases) and a treatment group (75 cases) using a random number table. Finally, 120 patients who underwent the complete treatment were enrolled including 67 in the treatment group and 53 in the control group. The patients in the treatment group was treated with infrared polarized light irradiation combined with shoulder joint mobilization, and in the control group was treated with shoulder mobilization alone. The whole course is 2 months, and the treatment was 5 times a week. In each treatment, the duration of infrared polarized light irradiation is 10 min and the duration of joint mobilization is 15 to 20 min. Rehabilitation assessment of pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), range of motion (ROM), muscle strength and self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) were performed before the first treatment and after 2 weeks of treatment. Results Before the treatment, there were no statistically significant differences in VAS, ROM, muscle strength and SAS scores between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with that before treatment, VAS and SAS scores were significantly decreased, ROM and muscle strength scores were significantly increased in the two groups after 2 weeks treatment (all P 0.05). The improvements of the indicators in the treatment group was greater than that of the control group. Conclusions Infrared polarized light irradiation can significantly improve the treatment effect of frozen shoulder. Key words: Frozen shoulder; Infrared polarized light; Rehabilitation assessment