February 18, 2025
The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and tendons that surround the shoulder and hold the arm in place. Damage to the rotator cuff is a common source of shoulder pain. When it comes to fixing that pain, both physical therapy (PT) and surgery plus PT have been known to restore function and comfort to the shoulder. That creates a question. How do you know which approach is right for you?
Recently, Ian Lo of the University of Calgary led a study to answer this question. His team followed 76 patients with uncomplicated, partial thickness rotator cuff tears. All patients received PT and treatments from their doctors. The researchers categorized PT as a success if patients did not go to surgery for the 4.4-year observation period.
The biggest predictor of PT success was whether the tear was traumatic or atraumatic. Chronic pains that came on slowly without any unusual reason for injury had an 84% success rate with PT. Compare that to the 16% success rate when the tear was from a single, obvious traumatic injury. While PT proved successful with general rotator cuff tears, most of that success came from atraumatic tears.
Does this mean you get out of therapeutic exercise if you have a traumatic shoulder injury? No. You still need PT after the surgery. Also, some research suggests that surgery outcomes are improved if you receive PT before the surgery as well.
The good news is that you may be able to delay or prevent surgery by getting PT for chronic and building shoulder pain, especially if you start early in the course of the problem.
In reviewing this data, you agree that this is not medical advice and that medical advice should only be heeded after a proper assessment from a licensed healthcare professional.
