Loading...
Greater trochanteric pain syndrome generally is caused by gluteal tendinopathy, with or without bursitis. No treatment is predictably effective, but a few small studies have suggested that extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) might be promising. In this trial from Spain and Italy, 103 patients with this syndrome were randomized to standard-energy ESWT or to a sham treatment that delivered trivial energy. All patients received three weekly treatments. Outcomes were assessed by clinicians who were blinded to patients' treatment assignments.
The primary outcome was improvement in pain on a 0-to-10–point visual analog scale at 2 months after completion of treatment. From an average of 6.3 at baseline, mean pain scores fell by 4.3 points in th…