Shock Wave Therapy for Diabetic Frozen Shoulder

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who treat shoulder pain and stiffness in outpatient, hospital, and clinic settings, and who see patients with diabetes on their caseload.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants. Physical therapist assistants deliver interventions under the direction of a physical therapist; evaluation, diagnosis, and plan-of-care decisions remain with the physical therapist.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

Reno C, Swinton PA, Alexander L. Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Chronic Adhesive Capsulitis in Type 2 Diabetics: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Physical Therapy. 2025;105:pzaf074. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. Advance access publication date May 22, 2025.

This course reports the content of that single review. All findings, figures, and conclusions described here come from that paper, and no claims beyond it are introduced.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the population, the condition, and the comparison treatments examined in this systematic review with meta-analysis of extracorporeal shock wave therapy.
2. State what the review reported for pain, shoulder range of movement, and disability, and how much confidence the authors placed in each of those three findings.
3. Explain the limits the authors identified — including varied treatment protocols, short follow-up, and the geographic concentration of the trials — and why they said a best-practice protocol could not be formulated.

1. Start Here: how this course works and what it covers
2. Audio Overview: Shock Wave Therapy for Diabetic Frozen Shoulder (about nine minutes)
3. Frozen Shoulder in Type 2 Diabetes: The Question Behind the Review
4. Building the Evidence Base: Searching, Screening, and Grading the Trials
5. Pain, Motion, and Disability: What the Pooled Results Showed
6. Mixed Protocols, Short Follow-Up, and a Narrow Geographic Base
7. From Review to Clinic: What the Authors Said This Could Mean
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. Reno C, Swinton PA, Alexander L. Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy for Chronic Adhesive Capsulitis in Type 2 Diabetics: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Physical Therapy. 2025;105:pzaf074. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. Advance access publication date May 22, 2025.
2. This course reports the content of that single review. All findings, figures, and conclusions described here come from that paper, and no claims beyond it are introduced.