BACKGROUND Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair generally has a good clinical outcome but shoulder stiffness after surgery due to subacromial adhesion is one of the most common and clinically important complications. Sodium hyaluronate (HA) has been reported to be an anti-adhesive agent in a range of surgical procedures. However, there are few reports of the outcomes of arthroscopic rotator cuff re...

BACKGROUND Rotator cuff tears are a very common condition that is often incapacitating. Whether non-surgical or surgical, successful management of rotator cuff disease is dependent on appropriate rehabilitation. If conservative management is insufficient, surgical repair is often indicated. Postsurgical outcomes for patients having had rotator cuff repair can be quite good. A successful outcome...

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 Surgical treatment of rotator cuff tears has consistently demonstrated good clinical and functional outcomes. However, in some cases, the rotator cuff fails to heal. While improvements in rotator cuff constructs and biomechanics have been made, the role of biologics to aid healing is currently being investigated. METHODS A selective literature search was performed and personal surg...

CONTEXT Despite the significant attention directed toward optimizing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, there has been less focus on rehabilitation after rotator cuff repair surgery. OBJECTIVE To determine the effect of different rehabilitation protocols on clinical outcomes by comparing early versus late mobilization approaches and continuous passive mobilization (CPM) versus manual therapy a...

Double-row rotator cuff repair techniques incorporate a medial and lateral row of suture anchors in the repair configuration. Biomechanical studies of double-row repair have shown increased load to failure, improved contact areas and pressures, and decreased gap formation at the healing enthesis, findings that have provided impetus for clinical studies comparing single-row with double-row repai...

Clinical outcomes of surgical management of full-thickness rotator cuff tears in professional baseball players have been uniformly poor. We conducted a study to investigate return-to-play data and functional performance using a novel arthroscopic repair technique. We hypothesized that arthroscopic rotator cuff repair would result in a high rate of return to professional pitching and favorable f...

Ultrasound is gradually achieving more acceptance by orthopaedic surgeons as a diagnostic imaging tool for rotator cuff and biceps tendon pathology. Two hundred and ten patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs were examined clinically and with ultrasound at early (3 weeks) and late follow-up (average 22 months; range: 12 to 49). A high correlation between clinically intact cuffs and sono...

The rotator cuff musculature imparts dynamic stability to the glenohumeral joint. In particular, the balance between the subscapularis anteriorly and the infraspinatus posteriorly, often referred to as the rotator cuff "force couple," is critical for concavity compression and concentric rotation of the humeral head. Restoration of this anterior-posterior force balance after chronic, massive rot...

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...