Forty-eight patients with calcific tendinitis of the rotator cuff (RCCT), for whom conservative treatment was unsuccessful, were randomized to receive either ultrasound-guided needling and lavage (barbotage), as well as a subacromial bursa corticosteroid injection (SAI) or SAI alone to compare the effects of these two treatment approaches. Results at 1 year indicated that, although both barbotage + SAI and SAI-alone injections improved clinical outcomes, the barbotage + SAI group displayed significantly greater improvements, especially in Gartner type 3 patients, accompanied by a low risk for complications.