Functional outcomes after physiotherapy program in patients with massive and irreparable rotator cuff tear

H J Gutiérrez-Espinoza; P Lorenzo-García; J Valenzuela-Fuenzalida; F Araya-Quintanilla

doi:10.1016/j.recote.2021.04.004

Functional outcomes after physiotherapy program in patients with massive and irreparable rotator cuff tear

Rev Esp Cir Ortop Traumatol. 2021 Jul-Aug;65(4):248-254. doi: 10.1016/j.recote.2021.04.004.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

H J Gutiérrez-Espinoza¹, P Lorenzo-García², J Valenzuela-Fuenzalida³, F Araya-Quintanilla⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centro de Investigación de Rehabilitación en Salud (CIRES), Universidad de las Américas, Santiago, Chile; Escuela de Kinesiología, Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: kinehector@gmail.com.
² Centro de Estudios Sociosanitarios, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain.
³ Departamento de Morfología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile.
⁴ Facultad de Salud, Universidad SEK, Santiago, Chile.

PMID: 37099420
DOI: 10.1016/j.recote.2021.04.004

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the short term and 1-year follow-up functional effects of a physiotherapy programme in patients over 60 years of age with massive and irreparable Rotator Cuff (RC) tear.

Methods: A total of 96 patients with massive and irreparable RC tear were prospectively recruited. All patients were treated with a 12-week physiotherapy programme. Three evaluations were performed, at the beginning, at the end of the treatment and at one year of follow-up. The Constant-Murley questionnaire was used to assess shoulder function, the DASH questionnaire for upper limb function, and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain intensity.

Results: At the end of the treatment, all the variables showed a clinically and statistically significant difference (p<.05). At one year of follow-up, the Constant-Murley showed an increase of 26.5 points (Cohen's d=1.7; 95% CI: 23.5-29.5; p<.001), DASH showed a decrease of 31.4 points (Cohen's d=2.2; 95% CI: 28.5-34.3; p<.001), and the VAS showed a decrease of 3.9cm (Cohen's d=3.6; 95% CI: 3.6-4.1; p<.001).

Conclusion: In the short term and 1-year follow-up, a physiotherapy programme showed clinically and statistically significant results in all functional variables in patients older than 60 years with massive and irreparable RC tear.

Keywords: Adulto mayor; Ejercicio terapéutico; Elderly; Exercise therapy; Fisioterapia; Functional outcomes; Manguito rotador; Massive rotator cuff tear; Physiotherapy; Resultados funcionales; Rotator cuff; Rotura masiva del manguito rotador.