The findings of a randomized controlled trial in the 'Clinical Rehabilitation' recommends that focused extracorporeal shock wave therapy (f-ESWT) is effective in pain reduction, both in the short-term and mid-term perspective. A randomized controlled trial with blind outcome assessors was conducted to validate the hypothesis. A total of 50 patients with a mean age of 61.24 (9.26) years affected by greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) with gluteal tendinopathy were included in an outpatient university hospital setting. The study population received f-ESWT and the control group was subjected to ultrasound therapy (UST) and the lower limb function and hip pain were assessed. The LEFS (Lower Extremity Functional Scale) and p-NRS (numeric rating scale) were used for the assessment. Two follow-up assessments were performed, firstly at 2 months after the first treatment session and then after 6 months. It was observed that 86% of the study population was female. The results confirmed that f-ESWT was significantly better than UST at both the follow-up assessments. The study population, as well as the control group, experienced notable pain reduction with time. The LEFS total score improved markedly in both the groups, but there were no statistical differences in the comparisons between the groups.

The study authors noticed a functional improvement in the affected lower limb, although, in this case, f-ESWT was not superior to UST.