*Shore, BJ; +**Kedgley, AE;*Drosdowech, DS; *King, GJW; *Athwal, GS; **Johnston, JA; *Faber, KJ *Hand and Upper Limb Centre, Department of Orthopaedics, University of Western Ontario. +**Bioengineering Research Laboratory, St. Joseph’s Health Care London, Hand and Upper Limb Centre, 268 Grosvenor Street, London, Ontario, CANADA, N6A 4L6, 519-646-6000, Fax: 519-646-6049 [email protected] INTRODUCT...

UNLABELLED The "shrug sign" (inability to lift the arm to 90 degrees abduction without elevating the whole scapula or shoulder girdle) has been associated with a diagnosis of rotator cuff disease. Based on our clinical experience, we hypothesized the shrug sign is not a specific diagnostic sign for this condition, but rather is associated with various shoulder conditions and shoulder weakness a...

Rotator cuff tear size has an important effect on clinical outcomes after repair. Management options for massive rotator cuff tears are numerous, and selection of the most appropriate treatment method for individual patients can be a challenge. An understanding of the pathomechanics, treatment, and clinical outcomes in patients with massive rotator cuff tears can serve as a guide for clinical d...

INTRODUCTION: There are various shapes of full-thickness rotator cuff tears, but they are mainly categorized into two types; crescent-shaped and L-shaped tears. Although it is widely accepted that the tear often propagates with time, the exact propagation pattern in each type of tear is still remains unknown. In the present study, we attempted to clarify the stress distribution in the tendons w...

BACKGROUND Treatment of partial thickness supraspinatus tendon tears is controversial with no clearly defined treatment algorithms based on severity of tears. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between depth of partial thickness tears and strain. METHODS Bursal-sided partial thickness tears were created at 1 mm increments in depth at the anterior portion of the supraspinatus tendon ...

BACKGROUND Tear conversion followed by repair and trans-tendon techniques have been widely used for partial-thickness rotator cuff tears. Both of them showed favorable results with regard to the management of articular-sided partial-thickness rotator cuff tears (PTRCTs) of more than 50% thickness. However, controversy continues with the best management. This study aims to compare the clinical o...

Full-thickness rotator cuff tears in the young athlete are a rare injury. These injuries typically result from an acute traumatic event in a contact athlete, as opposed to overuse injuries more commonly seen in throwing athletes. Acute tears may be initially overlooked, with the symptoms attributed to other, more common causes, such as cuff contusion or brachial plexus neuropraxia ("stinger" or...

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...

BACKGROUND Chronic rotator cuff tears are a common source of shoulder pain and disability, and patients with chronic cuff tears often have substantial weakness, fibrosis, inflammation, and fat accumulation. Identifying therapies to prevent the development of these pathologic processes will likely have a positive impact on clinical outcomes. Simvastatin is a drug with demonstrated anti-inflammat...

The subscapularis (SSC) muscle is the most powerful of the rotator cuff muscles, and plays an important role in shoulder motion and stabilization. SSC tendon tear is quite uncommon, compared to the supraspinatus (SSP) tendon, and, most of the time, part of a large rupture of the rotator cuff. Various complementary imaging techniques can be used to obtain an accurate diagnosis of SSC tendon lesi...