Recent studies have reported that massive rotator cuff tears do not heal as predictably as, and may have diminished clinical outcomes compared with, smaller rotator cuff tears. An improved understanding of the biologic degeneration and the biomechanical alterations of massive rotator cuff tears should provide better strategies to optimize outcomes. The approach to patients with massive rotator ...

Historically, many causes have been proposed for rotator cuff conditions. The most prevalent theory is that the rotator cuff tendons, especially the supraspinatus, make contact with the acromion and coracoacromial ligament, resulting in pain and eventual tearing of the tendon. However, more recent evidence suggests that this concept does not explain the changes in rotator cuff tendons with age....

Failed rotator cuff repair may be caused by surgical complications, diagnostic errors, technical errors, failure to heal, and traumatic failure. Revision rotator cuff repair is made technically more difficult by poor tissue quality, tissue adhesions, and retained suture and suture anchor material. Historically, open revision rotator cuff repair yields inferior results compared with primary rota...

Traditional methods of open and mini-open rotator cuff repairs have shown excellent results in shortand medium-term follow-up and remain viable methods of treating rotator cuff pathology. A trend toward the arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff tears continues, however, and will probably accelerate as the next generation of surgeons is trained in arthroscopic treatment methods. The purpose of thi...

BACKGROUND A familial predisposition to the development of rotator cuff tearing has been previously reported. Very little information exists on the development of global tendon dysfunction in patients with rotator cuff tears. The purpose of the current study was to determine the incidence of global tendon dysfunction as well as the need for surgery for tendon dysfunction in patients with rotato...

BACKGROUND Despite the high prevalence of rotator cuff disease in the aging adult population, the basic mechanisms initiating the disease are not known. It is known that changes occur at both the bone and tendon after rotator cuff tears. However, no study has focused on early or "pretear" rotator cuff disease states. The purpose of this study was to compare the bone mineral density of the great...

BACKGROUND The incidence of asymptomatic rotator cuff tears has been reported to range from 15% to 39%, but the influence of asymptomatic rotator cuff pathology on shoulder function is not well understood. This study assessed the effects of asymptomatic rotator cuff pathology on shoulder kinematics, strength, and patient-reported outcomes. METHODS A clinical ultrasound examination was perform...

Background: Shoulder joint pain is commonly seen in primary care. Were many of them diagnosed with rotator cuff disease especially involvement of supraspinatus tendon of rotator cuff. The progression of disease leads to tear of rotator cuff and the etiology is multifactorial. However, characteristic changes of acromion morphology appear as major risk factor for rotator cuff tear. According to a...

Magnetic resonance imaging makes it possible to inspect the status of the rotator cuff and the shape of the acromion. To clarify the relationship between acromial shapes and rotator cuff tears, we evaluated magnetic resonance images obtained in 192 shoulders. We classified the acromial shapes into 3 types: type I (flat), type II (curved), and type III (hooked). Among a group of 91 shoulders wit...

The most prevalent group of disorders of human shoulder is related to the muscles of the rotator cuff. In order to develop a mechanical method for rotator cuff muscles’ evaluation, we hypothesized that measurement of the isometric force generated by the individual muscle of the rotator cuff might detect the variations, which are characteristic to the different disorders of rotator cuff muscles ...