Outcome assessments
shoulder flexion, abduction, pain
After the treatment and at the beginning of the study, all outcomes were assessed. The same experienced therapist collected data on basic demographic factors such as age, gender, duration of symptoms, stage, affected side and clinical outcomes such as pain and active range of motion (AROM).Pain intensity was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS), which ranks pain from 0 (no pain) to 10 (most severe pain) and has good reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.71–0.99. The standard error of measurement (SEM) of VAS was 0.03 and the minimum detectable change (MDC) was 0.08 [The shoulder active range of motion (AROM) including flexion (FL), extension (EX), abduction (AB), external rotation (ER), and internal rotation (IR) was measured with a two-arm standard goniometer with a good reliability (ICC 0.91 to 0.99) [For each movement, three measurements were recorded, and the mean was used for statistical analysis. In the standing posture, shoulder flexion and abduction were assessed. In the prone position, shoulder extension was measured with the elbow flexed to 90°. In the prone position, shoulder internal rotation was measured with the shoulder abducted to 90° and the elbow flexed to 90°. Finally, in the supine position, the external rotation of the shoulder was measured with the shoulder abducted to 90° and the elbow flexed to 90° [