Effectiveness of Maitland Mobilization as Compared to Passive Stretching on Pain, External Rotation Range of Motion and Shoulder Function in Patients of Adhesive Capsulitis: A Comparative Study

Introduction: Patients with adhesive capsulitis commonly present with ROM restrictions in a capsular pattern. There is insufficient evidence to reliably recommend a treatment approach for adhesive capsulitis. Hence, we acknowledge the need to compare the effectiveness of Maitland mobilization and passive stretching on pain, external rotation range of motion and shoulder Function in patients of Adhesive Capsulitis.

Method: Total 60 patients, between age group 40 to 65, diagnosed as a case of grade I and II Adhesive capsulitis were divided randomly in to two different treatment groups. The two groups i. e. group A received Maitland mobilization and group B received Passive stretching for 6 sessions over period of 2 weeks along with TENS and conventional exercises. Pain on NPRS, Glenohumeral external rotation Range of motion and SPADI were evaluated on the first and last day of the intervention in both groups. Paired t-tests were used to compare the pre- and post-intervention results in both groups, and independent t-tests were used to compare groups.

Results: Both groups exhibited significant decreases in pain on NPRS and SPADI scores post-intervention. Moreover, the glenohumeral external rotation range of motion increased significantly post-intervention in both groups. However, the improvement in Group A was more significant as compared to Group B.

Conclusion: The result conclude that Maitland mobilization technique is more effective for treating patients of shoulder adhesive capsulitis as compared to passive stretching.