BACKGROUND It has been indicated that rotator cuff tears, especially large or massive ones, can cause suprascapular neuropathy. When such a diagnosis has been established, it is still unknown whether an arthroscopic release of the superior transverse scapular ligament during cuff repair can change the course of this neuropathy. METHODS/DESIGN This is a single-center, double-blinded randomized...

The biomechanical properties of, and mechanical environment surrounding, the rotator cuff continue to be a research area of great interest as injury and failure of these tendons are among the most common of shoulder pathologies, with incidence increasing in older populations. Recent literature has refined our knowledge of the anatomy, the role of the various tendons in movement and shoulder sta...

INTRODUCTION: Rotator cuff tear is one of the common shoulder disorders and surgical repair is very effective for the improvement of shoulder functions. Current surgical technique for rotator cuff tear is an arthroscopical repair or a mini-open repair. Selection of surgical technique should be determined by the appropriate patient’s selection based on the pathology of the rotator cuff tear. Mag...

Rotator cuff disease is the most common condition affecting the shoulder, causing significant pain and functional impairment in the adult population. Improvements in arthroscopic instrumentation and suture anchor technology have allowed the development of stronger constructs with multiple suture configurations, allowing repair of large and massive tears through minimally invasive means. However...

Rotator cuff disease of the shoulder, a common condition, is often incapacitating. Whether nonsurgical or surgical, successful management of rotator cuff disease is dependent on appropriate rehabilitation. Numerous rehabilitation protocols for the management of rotator cuff disease are based primarily on anecdotal clinical observation. The available literature on shoulder rehabilitation, in con...

Large rotator cuff tears are extremely uncommon in young people and when they occur they may be associated with shoulder instability. This paper reports on a series of six elite rugby union and rugby league footballers who presented with shoulder instability and large rotator cuff tears. They were treated with a two stage procedure: an open rotator cuff repair followed by an open shoulder stabi...

Rotator cuff tears are extremely common in the adult population, and medial transtendinous rotator cuff tears, although rare, have recently been reported in the literature. These tears are almost always traumatic, which is a common indication for surgical management. It is necessary to consider these tears as a distinct subset when planning for rotator cuff repair because traditional repair tec...

In the operative management of rotator cuff disease, comparable functional results have been reported after open or mini-open repair and arthroscopic fixation. Surgical repair aims to re-establish an anatomical configuration of the tendon-bone construct for restoring its mechanical performance. Single row repair is the most commonly used technique, but recently some authors have proposed to re-...

Transosseous repair of the rotator cuff has been shown to recreate the anatomic rotator cuff footprint in a secure and cost-efficient manner. However, the potential for sutures cutting through bone remains a concern with this strategy. Devices have been used successfully during open transosseous rotator cuff repair to augment the bone tunnels, potentially avoiding suture cut-out through the wea...

Massive rotator cuff tears are particularly challenging to treat and severely limit the function of the shoulder. Compared with a small rotator cuff tear, massive tears are more unpredictable and usually present with low tendon quality. When performing an anatomical repair of the rotator cuff, the surgical treatment is often associated with failure of the construct. An alternative procedure tha...