Rotator Cuff Tears

Welcome to Temple University's Evidence-Based Practice project. This project was created by and for the students at Temple University in Philidelphia, and is part of the Orthopaedic curriculum. Please do not edit unless you are involved in this project, but please come back in the near future to check out new information!!

Let me know if you need any assistance.Be the first to edit this page and have your name permanently included as the original editor, see the editing pages tutorial for help.

Original Editor - Your name will be added here if you created the original content for this page. Lead Editors - Your name will be added here if you are a lead editor on this page.  Read more.

Clinically Relevant Anatomy

The shoulder is made up of three main bones1: the humerus, scapula and clavicle. These bones create three joints: the glenohumeral, acromioclavicular, and sternoclavicular joints. There are four muscles that make up the rotator cuff: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis. The rotator cuff muscles are used in a variety of upper extremity movements including flexion, abduction, internal rotation and external rotation.

Mechanism of Injury / Pathological Process

Rotator cuff tears can be caused by degenerative changes, repetitive microtrauma or traumatic injury. Normal muscle deterioration with age and overuse repetitive motion are examples of atraumatic causes². Traumatic injury to the rotator cuff can be caused by falling on an outstretched hand, unexpected force when pushing or pulling or during shoulder dislocation.

Clinical Presentation

Individuals with a rotator cuff tear may present with severe pain at time of injury, pain at night, pain with overhead activities, positive painful arc sign, weakness of involved muscle, and shoulder stiffness8. Individuals with a tear of the supraspinatus may complain of tenderness over the greater tuberosity, pain located in the anterior shoulder, and symptoms radiating down the arm.

Diagnostic Procedures

add text here relating to diagnostic tests for the condition

Outcome Measures

• DASH
• Quick DASH
• Penn Shoulder Score
• Global Rating of Change Scale

Management / Interventions

add text here relating to management approaches to the condition

Differential Diagnosis

add text here relating to the differential diagnosis of this condition

Key Evidence

add text here relating to key evidence with regards to any of the above headings

Resources

add appropriate resources here

Case Studies

Conservative Management of a Large Rotator Cuff Tear to Increase Functional Abilities: A Case Report

References

References will automatically be added here, see adding references tutorial.