Rotator cuff tear be 2 to 3 times more common than bursal-sided tears and among a population of young athletes, articular-sided tears constituted 91% of all partial-thickness tears. Rotator cuff tear A rotator cuff tear is an injury of one or more of the tendons or muscles of the rotator cuff of the shoulder. Symptoms may include shoulder pain, which is often worse with movement, or weakness. This may limits people's ability to brush their hair or put on clothing. Clicking may also occur with movement of the arm. Tears may occur as the result of a sudden force or gradually over time.
Rotator cuff tear single physical examination test distinguishes reliably between bursitis, partial-thickness, and full-thickness tears. On the contrary, a combination of tests seems to provide the most accurate diagnosis. For impingement, these tests include the Hawkins-Kennedy impingement sign in which the examiner medially rotates the patient's flexed arm, forcing the supraspinatus tendon against the coracoacromial ligament and so producing pain if the test is positive a positive painful arc sign, and weakness in external rotation with the arm at the side. For the diagnosis of full-thickness rotator cuff tear, the best combination appears to include once more the painful arc and weakness in