Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical results of conservative treatment for rotator cuff tears.
Methods: 33 shoulders of 28 patients were evaluated and diagnosed as having rotator cuff tear with magnetic resonance image or ultrasonography in our institution. There were 13 male cases (17 shoulders), and 15 female cases (16 shoulders). The average age of the 33 shoulders at the time of the diagnosis was 70.9 years old (range 56 to 82 years) and their mean follow-up period was 37.5 months (range 12 to 106 months). With respect to tear size, 4 shoulders were categorized as massive tears, 5 were large tears, 14 were medium tears, 9 were small tears. There was 1 partial tear at the bursal side. The clinical results were evaluated by Japanese Orthopaedic Association shoulder scoring system (JOA score) and pre and post therapeutic active range of motion was also investigated.
Results: The average JOA score improved from 69.2 points at first exam to 84.0 points at the final follow-up. However, younger patients (less than 60 years old) showed deterioration. Improvement of active range of motion has been confirmed from 139 to 156 degrees in elevation, from 135 to 150 degrees in abduction, from 57 to 63 degrees in external rotation and from L2 to L1 level in internal rotation at the final follow up.
Conclusion: In most of the cases, clinical results of conservative treatment for rotator cuff tears were satisfactory except for younger and active patients.
