Early versus late physiotherapy following arthroscopic repair of small and medium size rotator cuff tear: a randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: We compared early and late physiotherapy for patients with small and medium size rotator cuff tears following arthroscopic repair. METHODS: A single-centre, single-blinded, prospective parallel RCT was performed with two arms: early physiotherapy (start within the first week) versus late physiotherapy (start 4 weeks after surgery). Patients with small- to medium-sized isolated full-thickness superior rotator cuff tears were included and followed for 12 months. The primary outcome measures were shoulder function and range of motion (ROM) measured by the Constant-Murley score (CMS) at three months, six months, and 12 months. The other outcomes were the visual analog scale (VAS) pain and the rotator cuff ultrasound (US) evaluation by the Sugaya classification. RESULTS: In three and six month follow-ups, CMS was significantly superior in the intervention group compared to controls (P < 0.05). However, only at the three month follow-up between-group difference met the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) (MCID = 10.4) (59.8 vs. 48.9). The intervention group experienced less pain than controls in the first six months (P < 0.001), and only the three month follow-up was clinically meaningful based on MCID (MCID = 1.4). Moreover, in the first six months, the shoulder ROM favoured the intervention group (P < 0.05). US grading of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus was similar between groups (P = 0.07). One retear occurred in the intervention group and another in the controls, detected by examination and US evaluation. CONCLUSION: Following the arthroscopic repair of a small- to medium-sized rotator cuff tear, early physiotherapy showed promising results for pain, function, and range of motion. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I therapeutic.

Mid-term results of arthroscopic Bankart repair and remplissage for recurrent anterior shoulder instability in patients with a history of seizures.

BACKGROUND: Seizure predisposes patients to shoulder dislocation. However, there is no consensus regarding the best management approach for recurrent shoulder dislocation in patients who have a history of seizures. In this study, we report the outcome of arthroscopic Bankart repair augmented by Remplissage for the recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation in a series of patients with a history of seizures. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 27 patients with 29 recurrent anterior shoulder dislocations who were treated with the arthroscopic Bankart repair were included. All cases had deep Hill-Sachs lesions according to Hardy classification that was managed with a Remplissage technique. Patients with a glenoid defect of more than 20% in the CT scan were excluded. Twenty-two patients had an epileptic seizure, while the remaining five patients had convulsions due to other causes. The mean age of the patients was 28.3 ± 6.2 years. The mean follow-up of the patients was 3.1 ± 1.2 years. Outcome measures included the shoulder range of motion that was compared with the non-injured side in the unilateral subjects and the shoulder function that was evaluated by the Rowe score and the Walch-Duplay score. RESULTS: The mean forward flexion, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation were not significantly different between injured and non-injured shoulder (p = 0.34, p = 0.41, p = 0.11, p = 0.23). The mean Rowe score was 49.1 ± 7.8 before the surgery and 92.1 ± 6.4 at the last visit (p < 0.001). According to the Walch-Duplay score, the shoulders were categorized as excellent, good, and fair in 17 (58.7%), 11 (37.9%), and 1 (3.4%) shoulder, respectively. The overall rate of instability recurrence was 17.2% (n = 5). CONCLUSION: In patients with a history of seizures, arthroscopic Bankart repair augmented by Remplissage could be regarded as a safe and efficient method for the treatment of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation with glenoid defect < 20%.

Early postoperative pain as a risk factor of shoulder stiffness after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

BACKGROUND: The role of postoperative pain in incidence of shoulder stiffness (SS) after shoulder arthroscopy has not been thoroughly investigated. The present study was conducted to assess the effects of early postoperative pain (EPOP) on onset of SS after arthroscopic rotator cuff (RC) repair. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected database, 335 patients who underwent arthroscopic RC repair were evaluated. RC tendons were sutured to the bone using the double-row technique. EPOP was evaluated 1 week after surgery using the visual analog scale (VAS). SS was assessed 3 months after surgery and was categorized into moderate or severe based on shoulder range of motion (ROM). Each type of complication including SS was identified and recorded. RESULTS: Postoperative shoulder stiffness (POSS) was identified in 121 patients (36.2%) that was moderate in 86 patients (70.1%) and severe in 35 patients (28.9%). After 1 week, VAS pain score was equal to 7.7 ± 3.1 and 4.5 ± 2.1 in the patients with and without stiffness, respectively (p < 0.001). Diabetes and traumatic tear were found to be associated with postoperative stiffness (p = 0.046 and p < 0.001, respectively). Similar associations were found on multivariate analysis of data. VAS pain score was higher in the patients with severe stiffness compared with those with moderate stiffness (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed that EPOP is associated with shoulder stiffness after arthroscopic RC repair. Therefore, strategies to ameliorate EPOP could be opted to decrease rate of POSS. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.

Open Rotator Cuff Tear Repair Using Deltopectoral Approach.

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to evaluate the outcome of the open repair of rotator cuff tears via the deltopectoral approach in patients unable to afford arthroscopic repair costs. METHODS: We evaluated 80 consecutive patients who were treated for full-thickness rotator cuff tears by open repair through the deltopectoral approach. There were 48 men and 32 women at a mean age of 60.1 years (range, 35-80 years). Preoperative and postoperative clinical assessments were performed with the Constant score, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, modified University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score, and pain visual analog scale. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 30.6 months (range, 18-48 months). At final follow-up visits, the ASES, Constant score, and modified UCLA score were found to have improved significantly from 33.56, 39.24, and 13.0 to 85.64, 81.46, and 32.2, respectively (P <0.01). Pain, as measured on a visual analog scale, was improved significantly (P <0.01). The mean time for recovering the full range of motion was 2.5 months. Postoperative pain at 48 hours and at 6 weeks was relatively low. There were no cases of intractable stiffness. CONCLUSION: The deltopectoral approach for open rotator cuff repair produced satisfactory results and reduces rate of shoulder stiffness and postoperative pain.

Prevalence and Correlation between MRI Findings and Outcome of Conservative Treatment in Primary Idiopathic Frozen Shoulder.

Objectives: Primary idiopathic frozen shoulder (FS) causes pain and stiffness in the shoulder joint. Over time, this disease causes restriction of shoulder motion. We undertook this study to evaluate possible correlation of MRI findings with outcome of conservative management in FS. Methods: A total of 65 cases participated in prospective cohort study. The correlation of MRI findings obtained before commencing the treatment with outcome of non-operative management (Mean of ROM, VAS, SST and OSS) was evaluated. Results: Anterior extracapsular edema significantly correlated with FF, EXR, VAS (a) and OSS. The effusion in humeral side of axillary recess significantly correlated with ROM restriction in ABD, EXR. Capsular thickness of glenoid portion showed good significance with FF, ABD, VAS (a) and OSS. Increased thickness of CHL showed negative correlation with improvement of EXR (P=0.049) (r=-0.617). Thickening of IGHL showed negative correlation with improvement of ABD (p=0.005 r=-0.862) and FF (p=0.007 r=-0.831). Mean Height of Axillary recess (HAR) was 7.2mm (3.5-11mm). HAR showed negative correlation with VAS pain scale (P=0.036) (r=-0.682) and OSS (P=0.038) (r=-0.668). Conclusion: Thickness of the joint capsule and effusion at the axillary fold are important factors for refractory frozen shoulder. We can recommend MRI for refractive cases and low threshold of expectation can be set for conservative management in patients with above findings.

An exceptional case of posterior shoulder fracture dislocation in patient with recurrent anterior dislocation forming "Mirror Hill-Sachs lesion".

A posterior dislocation should be always kept in mind in a painful shoulder especially after trauma or seizure. Even in the presence of recurrent dislocation, the direction may be different from one episode to another.

A rare case of floating fifth metacarpal and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Floating metacarpal is a rare concurrent bipolar dislocation of metacarpal at both ends. Isolated dislocations of Carpo-metacarpal (CMC) or Metacarpo-phalangeal (MCP) have been previously reported, simultaneous dislocations of both joints is scarcely reported in literature and bares high chance of diagnosis being missed on presentation. PATIENT: A 29-year-old male presented with pain, swelling in left hand and loss of movement in fifth and fourth finger following a motorcycle fall injury. Radiography showed floating metacarpal of fifth ray along with fracture dislocation of at base of fourth metacarpal. DIAGNOSIS: The patient was diagnosed with floating fifth metacarpal along with fracture dislocation at base of fourth metacarpal. INTERVENTION: Open reduction and K-wire fixation was performed across CMC for fifth and fourth metacarpal along with MCP fixation for fifth metacarpal joint. OUTCOMES: The patient had excellent outcome after one year with normal Range of motion and grip. LESSONS: Early recognition and prompt management of these injuries are considered as hallmark of prognosis. Ideal treatment for such dislocation is controversial. However, we have noted from earlier case reports that with acute dislocation and minimal swelling closed reduction and cast immobilization could be sufficient. In case of delayed presentation or swelling along with fracture, open reduction is favorable choice of treatment.