Background: Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) has been proven effective in a myriad of clinical fields as a treatment to restore function in patients with musculoskeletal disorders, damage to the central nervous system, or sports injuries. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a 2-week PNF exercise intervention on the degree of calcification, pain perception, and shoulder joint function in persons with calcific tendinitis (CT) of the supraspinatus. Design: Matched pairs design. Methods: This study was classified into a PNF group (n=8) and a control group (n=7) through a matched pairs design. Filmed x-rays, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and Constant-Murley Scale (CMS) were used to assess the long and short axis of calcified deposits, self-awareness of pain, and shoulder joint function of the subjects. 8 participants in the PNF group received a scapular and upper extremity PNF exercise intervention for 30 minutes per session, 10 times/week for 2 weeks while no intervention in the control group. Results: Two-way repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significant improvement after the 2-week PNF exercise intervention on calcified deposits, pain, and shoulder joint function (P<.05), whereas no changes in the control. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the intensive 2-week PNF exercise may maximize intervention effects to reduce calcified deposits and pain in a relatively short period time and is effective for restoring shoulder function without combining other treatments or exercises in patients with supraspinatus CT.

Background: Strengthening the supraspinatus is an important aspect of a rehabilitation program for subacromial impingement and tendinopathy. Many authors recommended empty-can (EC), full-can (FC), and prone full-can (PFC) exercises to strengthen the supraspinatus. However, no ultrasonography study has yet investigated supraspinatus muscle architecture (muscle thickness; MT, pennation angle; PA, fiber bundle length; FBL) in relation to supraspinatus strengthening exercises. Objects: The purpose of this study was to compare the architecture (MT, PA, and FBL) of the supraspinatus muscle during three different types of exercises (EC, FC, and PFC) using diagnostic ultrasound. Methods: Participants performed three different exercises: (A) EC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full internal rotation in the sitting position, (B) FC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full external rotation in the sitting position, and (C) PFC; the arm was maintained at 60° abduction with full external rotation in the prone position. Ultrasonography was used to measure the MT, PA and FBL of the supraspinatus. One-way repeated analysis of variance with Bonferroni’s post-hoc test was used to compare between the three exercises and the initial position of each exercise. Results: Compared with each initial position, the FC exercise showed the greatest mean difference in muscle architecture properties and the PFC exercise showed the least mean difference. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the FC exercise position may have an advantage in increasing the amount of contractile tissue or producing muscle power and the PFC exercise position may be useful in a rehabilitation program because it offers the advantage of maintaining the muscle architecture properties.