INTRODUCTION Massive rotator cuff tears may be present in patients with minimal pain and good function, or in patients with significant pain and disability.5,6,14,26 In the latter case, arthroscopic repair, either partial or complete, has been demonstrated to improve function.3,11,20,21 The mechanism of recovery is believed to be associated with an improved rotator cuff function due to at least...

INTRODUCTION: Pathologic changes in the long head of the biceps tendon are common clinically in conjunction with rotator cuff tears [1,2]. However, there is some debate regarding the role of the biceps at the shoulder following a cuff tear [3,4] and therefore, controversy exists regarding its treatment. A previous study in a rat model determined that the biceps tendon was detrimentally affected...

BACKGROUND Although rotator cuff disease is a common musculoskeletal problem in the United States, the impact of this condition on earnings, missed workdays, and disability payments is largely unknown. This study examines the value of surgical treatment for full-thickness rotator cuff tears from a societal perspective. METHODS A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate lifetime direc...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of humeral head compression taping (HHCT) on the strength of the shoulder external rotator muscle in patients with rotator cuff tendinitis. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty patients with rotator cuff tendinitis were recruited. The shoulder external rotator strength was measured using a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer system. A paired t-t...

The approach to management of a partial-thickness rotator cuff tear is best made with the understanding that this is not a singular condition. Rather, partial tears represent the common outcome of a variety of insults to the rotator cuff. Degenerative changes due to aging, anatomic impingement, and trauma may all be etiologic agents. Overhead athletes may develop tears due to repetitive microtr...

Rotator cuff tears are the most common musculoskeletal injury occurring in the shoulder. Current surgical repair fails to heal in 20% to 95% of patients, depending on age, size of the tear, smoking, time of repair, tendon quality, muscle quality, healing response, and surgical treatments. These problems are worsened by the limited healing potential of injured tendons attributed to the presence ...

Background Many patients with rotator cuff tears suffer from nocturnal shoulder pain, resulting in sleep disturbance. Purpose To determine whether rotator cuff tear size correlated with sleep disturbance in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears. Study Design Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods Patients with a diagnosis of unilateral full-thickness rotator cuff t...

BACKGROUND Six classification systems have been proposed for describing rotator cuff tears designed to help understand their natural history and make treatment decisions. PURPOSE To assess the interobserver variation for these classification systems and identify the method with the best interobserver agreement. STUDY DESIGN Cohort study (diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. METHODS Six rotat...

BACKGROUND Tears of the rotator cuff are one of the most common tendon disorders. Treatment often includes surgical repair, but the rate of failure to gain or maintain healing has been reported to be as high as 94%. This has been substantially attributed to the inadequate capacity of tendon to heal once damaged, particularly to bone at the enthesis. A number of strategies have been developed to...

BACKGROUND Rotator cuff tearing has been found to be clinically associated with other tendinopathies and compression neuropathies; a significant excess of these phenotypes has been seen in patients with rotator cuff tears. It is unclear if the association is secondary to environmental or genetic influences. PURPOSE To examine population-based data for comorbid association of rotator cuff tear...