Conservative Care for Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinopathy: How Two Network Meta-Analyses Ranked Shock Wave, Needling and Physical Therapy

Physical therapists, physical therapist assistants and certified hand therapists who manage nontraumatic shoulder pain and want a plain-language account of what the current network meta-analyses say about conservative options for calcific tendinopathy of the rotator cuff.

Licensed physical therapists, physical therapist assistants working under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist, and certified hand therapists.

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

Moggio L, Marotta N, de Sire A, Benedetto GL, Gasparini G, Ammendolia A, Parrotta EI, Mercurio M. Efficacy of Conservative Approaches on Pain Relief and Function in Patients With Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinopathy: Which Is the Best Option? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Orthop Surg. 2025;17(11):3048–3066. doi:10.1111/os.70175

Yao Y, Yang G, Jiang S, Ji B, Jin H, Tang P, Li H, Lu B, Li Y. Treatments for rotator cuff calcific tendinitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. EFORT Open Rev. 2025;10(7):520–533. doi:10.1530/EOR-2024-0078

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe who was studied and how each review was assembled in the Orthopedic Surgery network meta-analysis of conservative approaches and the EFORT Open Reviews network meta-analysis of treatments for rotator cuff calcific tendinitis.
2. Name which treatments each review ranked highest for pain and for shoulder function, attributing each ranking to the review that reported it.
3. Explain why two network meta-analyses of the same condition produced different rankings, and state the limits each set of authors placed on their own conclusions.

1. Start Here: The Clinical Question and How This Course Is Built
2. Part One: Conservative Approaches for Pain and Function in Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinopathy
3. Who Was Studied: Adults With Imaging-Confirmed Calcific Deposits
4. How the Review Was Assembled: Randomized Trials Sharing One Function Scale
5. How the Treatments Ranked for Function and for Pain
6. Combined Protocols, Risk of Bias and What the Authors Concluded
7. Part Two: Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatments for Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinitis
8. A Wider Net: Thirty-Three Trials and Twenty-Six Treatment Methods
9. How the Networks Were Split Into Surgical and Nonsurgical Comparisons
10. Physical Therapy, Shock Wave Combinations and Resolution of Calcific Deposits
11. Treatment Failure, Complications and the Authors' Clinical Reading
12. Bringing It Together
13. Where the Two Reviews Point the Same Way
14. Where the Rankings Diverge and Which Review Found What
15. What This Means for a Physical Therapy Plan of Care
16. What Remains Unsettled in the Evidence
17. Key Takeaways
18. 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 1.0 contact hour (60 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. Moggio L, Marotta N, de Sire A, Benedetto GL, Gasparini G, Ammendolia A, Parrotta EI, Mercurio M. Efficacy of Conservative Approaches on Pain Relief and Function in Patients With Rotator Cuff Calcific Tendinopathy: Which Is the Best Option? A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. Orthop Surg. 2025;17(11):3048-3066. doi:10.1111/os.70175
2. Yao Y, Yang G, Jiang S, Ji B, Jin H, Tang P, Li H, Lu B, Li Y. Treatments for rotator cuff calcific tendinitis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. EFORT Open Rev. 2025;10(7):520-533. doi:10.1530/EOR-2024-0078