Monitoring of progression of nonsurgically treated rotator cuff tears by magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract

Level IV, Case Series, Prognosis Study.

Risk Factors for Tear Progression in Symptomatic Rotator Cuff Tears: A Prospective Study of 174 Shoulders

“…One hundred seventy-one patients with 174 consecutive symptomatic rotator cuff tears were prospectively enrolled in the present study. Although there are some reports on tear progression in the literature, 12,13,16,18,20,21,24,29 some had a small number of patients, and few reports gathered more than 100 patients prospectively, to the extent of our knowledge. MRI is considered one of the most accurate tools for the detection of rotator cuff tears, with sensitivity and positive predictive values ranging from 97% to 100%.…”

“…There are some reports on tear progression, but these are retrospective studies, or the number of participants is small. 7,18,20,21,30 Smoking, 3,11 hypercholesterolemia, 1 and age 6,19,27,31 are known to be risk factors for rotator cuff tears, whereas few reports have assessed the risk factors for tear progression. 9 It is important for surgeons to know the risk factors for tear progression, especially when nonoperative treatment is chosen, because the clinical outcomes of the repair of large to massive tears have been pointed out to be less satisfactory than those of small to medium-sized tears.…”

Age-dependent variation of glenohumeral anatomy: a radiological study

“…Both techniques resulted in excellent visualisation of the soft tissues such as the labrum, biceps tendon, rotator cuff and the pulley complex [13,14].…”

Rotator Cuff Tears : Short- and long-term aspects on treatment outcome

“…Another estimate of progression rate is 2 mm/year for width and 3.8 mm/year for length 265 . Most studies have been performed on patients with small tears however, and the progression rate may differ depending on tear size 204 . The passing of several years may also allow coping strategies and age-related decrease in activities to have an effect on the symptomatic state of a patient.…”