Outcomes with Additional Mirror Theraphy to Rehabilitation Protocol in Patients with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Study

Mirror therapy is a method that increases the functionality of the affected extremity and is effective in the treatment of chronic pain. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of mirror therapy on shoulder impingement syndrome. The study included 62 participants, including 31 in the intervention group (IG) and 31 in the control group (CG) who met the inclusion criteria. IG received mirror therapy with conventional physiotherapy while CG received only conventional physiotherapy. The patients were evaluated before treatment and immediately after treatment with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score for pain, goniometric measurement for shoulder range of motion, modified Constant-Murley score for functionality, and Tampa Kinesiophobia Scale (TSK) for kinesiophobia. After treatment, the change in the VAS score was 5.51 ± 1.89 for IG, 2.80 ± 2.61 for CG, and the significance was p<0.01. The change in the TSK score was 10.83 ± 9.53 for IG and 1.66 ± 4.85 for CG (p<0.01). The change in the total Constant-Murley score was 23.77 ± 11.41 for IG and 9.60 ± 9.70 for CG, and the significance was calculated as p<0.01. This study showed that the addition of mirror therapy to conventional treatment can improve pain severity, functionality, and levels of kinesiophobia in patients with unilateral shoulder impingement syndrome. The decrease in fear of movement along with pain in impingement syndrome has shown that mirror theraphy can be used in the treatment of different diseases for which it has not been used before.