Return to work after subacromial decompression, diagnostic arthroscopy, or exercise therapy for shoulder impingement: a randomised, placebo-surgery controlled FIMPACT clinical trial with five-year follow-up

Table 2 Patient characteristics at baseline

Characteristics	Arthroscopic subacromial decompression (n = 59)	Diagnostic arthroscopy (n = 63)	Exercise therapy (n = 71)
Age, years	50.5 (7.3)	50.8 (7.6)	50.4 (6.6)
Female, n (%)	42 (71)	46 (73)	47 (66)
Dominant hand affected, n (%)	35 (59)	36 (57)	46 (65)
Duration of symptoms, months	18 (14)	18 (19)	22 (23)
Able to work normally regardless of shoulder symptoms, n (%)	27 (46)	31 (49)	35 (49)
Visual analogue scale score, at rest^a	41.3 (25.8)	41.6 (25.5)	41.7 (27.5)
Visual analogue scale score, on arm activity^a	71.2 (23.6)	72.3 (21.7)	72.4 (20.8)
Constant-Murley score^b	32.2 (15.8)	31.7 (14.0)	35.2 (16.2)
Simple shoulder test score^c	4.9 (2.9)	4.9 (2.9)	4.8 (2.7)
15D score^d	0.89 (0.06)	0.89 (0.07)	0.88 (0.08)
SF-36 score physical health^e	74.3 (12.5)	74.1 (13.1)	75.7 (10.1)
SF-36 score mental health^e	79.4 (14.2)	77.9 (16.7)	75.6 (18.2)

Data are presented as mean (SD) unless otherwise indicated
^aShoulder pain at rest and at activity was assessed on a 100 mm visual analogue scale of 0 to 100, with 0 denoting no pain and 100 denoting extreme pain
^bScoring system for evaluation of various shoulder disorders consisting of both objective (range of motion and strength) and subjective measurements (pain assessment, workload, and leisure time activities), summarised in a score between 0 and 100; higher score indicates better shoulder function
^cBased on 12 questions with yes (1) or no (0) response options; maximum score is 12, indicating normal shoulder function; minimum score of 0 points indicates severely diminished shoulder function
^dGeneric health related quality of life instrument comprising 15 dimensions; maximum score is 1 (full health), and minimum score is 0 (death)
^eGeneric health related quality of life instrument to quantify the physical, functional, and psychological aspects of health-related quality of life. It consists of 36 questions in eight subscales that assess physical, functional, social, and psychological well-being. Score ranges from 0 to 100, where a higher score is associated with better health

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