The UK FROST RCT examined the clinical and cost-effectiveness of three secondary care treatments for adults with frozen shoulder. The trial provided robust evidence that none of the three trial treatments were superior on patient-reported outcomes at 12 months.
For most people frozen shoulder is a self-limiting condition of approximately one to three years duration. It happens when the flexible tissue surrounding the shoulder joint becomes inflamed and thickened, resulting in contraction (tightening) of the tissue and scarring. The shoulder then becomes very tight, painful and stiff which often can be extremely debilitating and interfere with people’s work, home and leisure activities. Most people eventually get better, even without treatment. However, for around one in 10 patients the condition is more resistant and these patients are referred to hospital. Hospital treatment commonly involves physiotherapy or one of two surgical procedures. It was unclear which of these treatments provided the best patient outcomes and was cost-effective.
In our trial we randomised 503 patients with frozen shoulder to receive early physiotherapy, or manipulation under anaesthesia or arthroscopic capsular release. Patient experiences of all three interventions were examined to give important patient-centred insight to further guide clinical decision making. We followed patients up for 12 months and asked them questions about their functional limitation, symptoms, pain and general health. We also collected information on complications and medical occurrences.
Patients were recruited from 35 hospital sites in the UK. On average, participants were 54 years old and 63% were female.
The trial provided robust evidence that none of the three trial treatments were superior on patient-reported outcomes at 12 months, although a marginal clinically important benefit of capsular release may exist over physiotherapy. Early physiotherapy was accessed more quickly than the surgical options and was lower in cost. Manipulation under anaesthesia was found to be the most cost-effective option. Capsular release had higher risks and costs compared with manipulation and physiotherapy, but fewer participants in this group required further treatment.
The evidence from UKFROST suggests that capsular release should be used more selectively, when less costly less invasive interventions fail.
Other outputs
Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK
The James Cook University Hospital, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust,
Middlesbrough, UK
The Physiotherapy Practice, South Shields, UK
Department of Orthopaedics, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, UK
School of Medicine, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK
School of Health & Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, UK
Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences,
Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK
Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK
Postgraduate Medical Institute, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
Physiotherapy Research Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
The research was funded by NIHR HTA programme (Award ID: 13/26/01) with a grant of £1,706,599. The project was started in October 2014 and completed in July 2019.
This trial was prospectively registered on the ISRCTN register:
ISRCTN48804508 https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN48804508