2024 Volume 24 Pages 75-79
We report on the physical therapy of a patient with a massive tear of the rotator cuff whose right shoulder pain had decreased her endurance and ability to complete cooking activities. The patient had a massive rotator cuff tear of the supraspinatus and the superior half of the subscapularis (Collin classification type A). During cooking, the patient had difficulty repeating external rotation of the shoulder joint while holding 30° of shoulder abduction, resulting in excessive muscle activity in the middle deltoid and upper trapezius fibers and pain in the middle deltoid fibers. As a result of physical therapy focusing on the function of each fiber of the infraspinatus muscle, which is the intact rotator cuff muscle, the patient was able to perform external rotation movements with shoulder joint abduction held at 30°, which decreased her right shoulder pain and enabled her to complete cooking activities. In order to improve the stability of cooking activities in patients with massive rotator cuff tears, it is important to provide physical therapy that fully exploits the functions of the intact rotator cuff.
