The purpose of this study was to evaluate early functional recovery after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR). Forty patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears underwent ARCR and were followed up for one year postoperatively. There were 17 men and 23 women with a mean age of 66.4 years (range 38 to 84 years). The patients were evaluated in terms of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) shoulder score at 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. The JOA score improved significantly from the third months after surgery. Recovery progressed until 12 months after surgery. The mean preoperative JOA score of 68.8 points had improved to 95.4 points by the time of the latest follow-up. The pain score showed a progression curve similar to that of the total JOA score. The function score was improved after 6 months. The range of motion was improved after 6 months for active forward flexion, and only after 12 months for both internal and external rotation. In this series, ARCR gave good clinical results at 12 months after surgery. Rapid pain reduction after ARCR with a lower morbidity may contribute to rapid return of function.
