Subsequent injury patterns in girls' high school sports. (J Athl Train. 2007) “Softball and volleyball had the highest proportion of reinjuries at the shoulder, especially rotator cuff strain.”

The detection of full thickness rotator cuff tears using ultrasound. (J Bone Joint Surg Br. 2008 ) “We conclude that ultrasound imaging of the shoulder performed by a sufficiently-trained orthopaedic surgeon is a reliable time-saving practice to identify rotator-cuff integrity.”

TREATMENT:

Allografts in the treatment of athletic injuries of the shoulder. (Sports Med Arthrosc. 2007 )

Arthroscopic debridement of massive irreparable rotator cuff tears. (Arthroscopy. 2008)

Arthroscopic repair of full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff in patients younger than 40 years. (Arthroscopy. 2008 )

Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair in patients younger than fifty years of age. (J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2008 )

Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: prospective functional outcome and repair integrity at minimum 2-year follow-up. (J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2007 )

Calcifications in the cuff: take it or leave it? (Br J Sports Med. 2007 ) “CONCLUSION: The results of our study suggest that removal of calcific deposits with anterolateral acromioplasty does not influence patient outcome. Further prospective studies are needed to determine the optimal surgical treatment for calcific tendonitis.”

Chronic shoulder pain: part II. Treatment. (Am Fam Physician. 2008 )

Clinical evidence shows no difference between single- and double-row repair for rotator cuff tears. (Arthroscopy. 2007 )

Comparison of conservative treatment with and without manual physical therapy for patients with shoulder impingement syndrome: a prospective, randomized clinical trial. (Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2007 ) “The patients treated with manual physical therapy applied by experienced physical therapists combined with supervised exercise in a brief clinical trial showed improvement of symptoms including increasing strength, decreasing pain and improving function earlier than with exercise program.”

Complications after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. (Arthroscopy. 2007 ) “RESULTS: A total of 28 patients (10.6%) sustained a complication. Complications included shoulder stiffness, failure of healing, infection, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, deep venous thrombosis, and death. Conclusions: The most common complication was recognized as persistent stiffness that usually responded to extensive physical therapy. Complications after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair are similar to results published for open rotator cuff repair.”

Conservative treatment of rotator cuff injuries. (J Surg Orthop Adv. 2006) “Most rotator cuff injuries may be treated conservatively by using regimens of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroid injections, and functional rehabilitation therapy. Injury prevention programs are essential for the long-term care of patients with rotator cuff disease, for primary prevention, and for prevention of recurrent injuries, unless a traumatically torn rotator cuff is present. Surgical management is reserved for refractory cases that have exhausted conservative measures.”

Débridement of small partial-thickness rotator cuff tears in elite overhead throwers. (Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2008)

Deep infection after rotator cuff repair. (J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2007 )

Exercise therapy for the conservative management of full thickness tears of the rotator cuff: a systematic review. (Br J Sports Med. 2007 )

Extracorporeal shock wave treatment for chronic rotator cuff tendonitis (shoulder pain). (Issues Emerg Health Technol. 2007 )

Failure analysis of rotator cuff repair: a comparison of three double-row techniques. (J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2008 )

Functional outcome of surgically treated massive rotator cuff tears: a comparison of complete repair, partial repair, and debridement. (Orthopedics. 2007)

[How to treat massive rotator cuff tears] (Orthopade. 2007 )

Moderate preoperative shoulder stiffness does not alter the clinical outcome of rotator cuff repair with arthroscopic release and manipulation. (Arthroscopy. 2008)

No advantages in repairing a type II superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) lesion when associated with rotator cuff repair in patients over age 50: a randomized controlled trial. (Am J Sports Med. 2008 )

Repair of full-thickness rotator cuff tears is recommended regardless of tear size and age: a retrospective study of 218 patients. (J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2007 ) “On the basis of our results, we recommend operative treatment of the rotator cuff for all cases in which the tear is full thickness, regardless of tear size, if patients have any symptoms, especially pain.”

Risk factors for readmission and revision surgery following rotator cuff repair. (Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2008 ) “The finding that surgeon volume is a predictor of revision RCR reflects the findings in other orthopaedic procedures.”

Rotator cuff repair. (Joint Bone Spine. 2007 )

Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: Is There a Role for Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Antioxidants? (J Hand Ther. 2008)

Surgery for rotator cuff disease. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 )

Technical pearls on how to maximize healing of the rotator cuff. (Instr Course Lect. 2007)

The efficacy of conservative treatment in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears. (Rheumatol Int. 2008)

The time for functional recovery after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: correlation with tendon healing controlled by computed tomography arthrography. (Arthroscopy. 2008 ) “CONCLUSIONS: Arthroscopic repair of rotator cuff lesions as performed in this study gives very good results in terms of functional recovery. Our study showed functional recovery as early as 3 months after surgery and further improvement over the first year, followed by stabilization. We found that female sex, upper-limb heavy work, poor bone quality, and lack of tendon healing were all negatively associated with outcome. Patients presenting with a retear differed from the other patients, in that their clinical progression showed a significant rise in the Constant score over the first year, with a lowering of the score thereafter.”

GUIDELINES:

NGC - Shoulder complaints. (2004)

NGC - Shoulder trauma. (2005)

NGC - Shoulder (acute & chronic). (2007)

INTERNET SITES:

A Patient's Guide to Acromioclavicular Joint Separation

A Patient's Guide to Adhesive Capsulitis

A Patient's Guide to Calcific Tendonitis of the Shoulder

A Patient's Guide to Impingement Syndrome

A Patient's Guide to Labral Tears

A Patient's Guide to Prepatellar Bursitis

A Patient's Guide to Rotator Cuff Tears

A Patient's Guide to Shoulder Instability

NIH - Impingement syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)

NIH - Rotator cuff repair

NIH - Rotator cuff tendinitis (Medical Encyclopedia)

NIH – Shoulder Injuries and Disorders

NIH - Shoulder pain (Medical Encyclopedia)

NIH - Shoulder Problems

Rotator Cuff Injury “The rotator cuff is a group of muscles which work together to provide the Glenohumeral (shoulder) joint with dynamic stability, helping to control the joint during rotation (hence the name). The rotator cuff muscles include: Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor, Subscapularis. Due to the function of these muscles, sports which involve a lot of shoulder rotation – for example, bowling in cricket, pitching in baseball, swimming, kayaking – often put the rotator cuff muscles under a lot of stress. Problems with the rotator cuff muscles can be classed into two categories – Tears of the tendons/muscles, and inflammation of structures in the joint.”

Rotator Cuff Injury and Inflammation (Patient UK)

Rotator cuff injury (Mayo)

Shoulder Injuries / Shoulder Pain

Shoulder injury

Shoulderdoc

Shoulder Injuries / Shoulder Pain

Sports Shoulder Injuries

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