A Rehabilitation Program for Patients who Underwent a Rotator Cuff Repair

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the influential factors on muscle strength improvement of postoperative patients following repair of rotator cuff tears. Twenty patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears who underwent operative repair were included in this study. The isometric muscle strength, measured by hand-held dinamometer (Micro-FET), were reached 78 per cent of the uninvolved in abduction, and 87 per cent of the uninvolved in external rotation at one year postoperatively. Muscle strengths of abduction and external rotations related significantly to the preoperative range of motion under anesthesia. These results indicated that extending the range of motion as much as possible before an operation was best for improvement of muscle strength of shoulders underwent to repair of a rotator cuff tear.