Abstract
Background: The clinical results of the ARCR for athletes using upper extremities with rotator cuff tears are unclear.
Methods: We examined 25 shoulders of 25 patients(15 males and 10 females, 37 ∼ 74 years old, average; 61 years old)who underwent ARCR for rotator cuff tears. Group A were athletes of non over-head sports; golf (12 cases) and table tennis (4 cases). Group B were athletes of over-head sports; badminton (4 cases), tennis (4 cases), softball (2 cases) and volleyball & beach-volleyball (3 cases). Four cases overlapped. The mean follow-up period was 23 months. The MRI, JOA score, Japan shoulder society - shoulder sports score (JSS-SSS) and sports performance were investigated over one year after surgery.
Results: On the MRI at one year after surgery, no patient had retears. The mean JOA score of group A was significantly improved from 67.3 preoperatively to 94 postoperatively, and group B was significantly improved from 69.6 to 95. The mean JSS-SSS of group A was significantly improved from 37.6 to 90.3, and group B was significantly improved from 28.8 to 78.9. The athletic performances of A and B group were 95.3% and 82.2% respectively. There was a significant difference between A and B group.
Conclusion: Although the performances of over-head athletes were slightly lower than non over-head athletes, the clinical results of ARCR for athletes using upper extremities were good.
