(English) Episode 276-Shoulder decompression surgery is a placebo

Épisode de Health Physio+ par Arthromainpod · 20 août 2026 · 19 min

This source details a multicentre randomised controlled trial known as the CSAW study, which evaluated the effectiveness of arthroscopic subacromial decompression for chronic shoulder pain.

Researchers compared patients receiving the full decompression surgery against a placebo group who underwent only a diagnostic arthroscopy and a control group receiving no treatment.

While patients who had surgery reported better results than those with no intervention, these improvements were not considered clinically significant.

Furthermore, the study found no extra benefit from removing bone spurs and tissue when compared to the placebo procedure.

These findings suggest that the common practice of surgical decompression may not provide meaningful relief beyond a placebo effect or postoperative care.

Consequently, the authors recommend that clinicians share these results with patients to better inform shared treatment decisions.

(Beard DJ, Rees JL, Cook JA, Rombach I, Cooper C, Merritt N, et al. Arthroscopic subacromial decompression for subacromial shoulder pain (CSAW): a multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, placebo-controlled, three-group, randomised surgical trial. Lancet [Internet]. 2018;391(10118):329–38. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32457-1)

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