No Benefit of Arthroscopy in Shoulder Impingement Pain

Scoping the shoulder (arthroscopy) for an impingement  syndrome is responsible for up to 70% of all shoulder problems.

A study in the past showed that the scientific clinical evidence in favor of this type of shoulder surgery is scarce.

This study compared performing the real surgery against a fake/placebo surgery.  They found that the differences were small and not clinically important.

The authors stated that the findings send a strong message that the burden of proof now rests on those who wish to defend the standpoint that shoulder arthroscopy is more effective than non-surgical interventions.

Full Text Article