Lisa Griffin
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether adding functional electrical stimulation (FES) to a shoulder exercise program improves how the shoulder muscles work together in older adults with rotator cuff-related shoulder pain. FES uses small electrical currents delivered through pads on the skin to help muscles contract. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does exercise combined with FES improve coordination between the rotator cuff and deltoid muscles more than exercise alone? 2. Does exercise combined with FES increase the space between the top of the upper arm bone and the shoulder blade (acromiohumeral distance), which may reduce pinching of the shoulder tendons? Researchers will compare a group that receives resistance exercise with FES to a group that receives the same resistance exercise without FES. Participants will: 1. Attend exercise sessions 3 times per week for 4 weeks (12 sessions) 2. Complete 4 testing visits: before training, after 2 weeks, after 4 weeks, and 4 weeks after training ends 3. At each testing visit, perform shoulder strength tasks while muscle activity is recorded with sensors on the skin and thin wire sensors placed in the muscle, have an ultrasound of the shoulder, and complete questionnaires about shoulder pain and function
Subacromial shoulder pain is common in older adults and is associated with rotator cuff disease. The rotator cuff muscles stabilize the humeral head against the upward pull of the deltoid during arm elevation. Previous work from our laboratory showed that intermuscular EMG-EMG coherence between rotator cuff muscles increases during fatigue in healthy individuals but not in individuals with subacromial pain, suggesting impaired common neural drive to these muscles. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been shown to increase corticospinal excitability and muscle activation, but its long-t…
Inclusion Criteria: * Having pain more than 2 weeks in the anterolateral shoulder region * A painful arc of movement (60°-120°) * Having shown positive impingement signs, including positive Neer, Hawkins, and Empty Can tests Exclusion Criteria: * Acute diagnosed rotator cuff tears * Osteoarthritis-induced shoulder pain * Currently receiving treatment or physical therapy for shoulder pain * Previous shoulder surgery * Taking medications that affect the central nervous system * Metabolic or cardiovascular disease * Metal Implants or pacemakers * Skin lesions on the shoulder * Aversion to need…
Pulsed direct current electrical stimulation delivered by the NEUBIE stimulator through surface electrodes placed over the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles during resistance exercises (40 Hz, 0.46 ms pulse width, maximum comfortable intensity).
Identical electrode placement over the supraspinatus and infraspinatus and identical NEUBIE stimulator setup as the active FES intervention, applied during the same resistance exercises, with stimulator intensity set to 0 so that no electrical current is delivered.
A standardized 3-phase progressive resistance training program (Michener et al., 2024) using elastic resistance bands, performed 3 times per week for 4 weeks under supervision by research staff. Participants progress through phases based on performance and symptom tolerance.