To explore the early efficacy of muscle energy technique in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA).

The patients after RTSA with intact deltoid muscle and no axillary nerve or brachial plexus injury were enrolled, while the patients with incision site infection were excluded. Twenty-eight patients who underwent RTSA in Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital from October 2021 to December 2024 were randomly divided into the observation group (14 cases) and the control group (14 cases). Both groups received conventional rehabilitation treatment, while the observation group was additionally treated with muscle energy technique. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) score of the patients were statistically analyzed at the first day, two and six weeks after surgery. Independent sample t test was used for data analysis.

On the first day after surgery, there was no statistically significant difference in the baseline ASES and UCLA scores between the two groups (P>0.05), indicating that the baseline data of the two groups were comparable. Two weeks after surgery, ASES score was 41.4±5.3 in the observation group while 38.1±6.1 in the control group, no statistically significant difference was observed (P>0.05). The UCLA score of the observation group was 18.3±2.4, which was significantly higher than 15.9±2.4 of the control group (t=2.670, P<0.05). Six weeks after surgery, the ASES score was 51.4±6.1 and UCLA score was 26.4±2.8 in the observation group, which were higher than 46.7±5.9 and 23.8±3.1 in the control group with statistically significant differences (ASES: t=2.110, UCLA: t=2.320, all P<0.05).

The use of muscle energy technique in the early stage of RTSA can achieve good clinical results.