Rotator cuff tear rotator cuff tear. Generally, the incidence of rotator cuff tears or injuries increases by age while corticosteroid injection for pain relief increases the risk of tendon tear and delays tendon healing. The shoulder is a complex mechanism involving bones, ligaments, joints, muscles, and tendons. The two main causes are injury (acute) and degeneration (chronic and cumulative), and the mechanisms involved can be either extrinsic or intrinsic or, probably most commonly, a combination of both. The cuff is responsible for stabilizing the glenohumeral joint, abducting, externally rotating, and internally rotating the humerus. When shoulder trauma occurs, these functions can be compromised.
Rotator cuff tear or arthritis. Superior labral anterior-posterior lesions produce pain similar to that of rotator cuff tears. Those most prone to failed rotator cuff syndrome are patients 65 years of age or older; and those with large, sustained tears. Smokers, diabetes sufferers, patients with muscle atrophy and/or fatty infiltration, and those who do not follow postoperative-care recommendations also are at greater risk. Doctors examine patients and conduct imaging tests to identify the causes of continued discomfort. Depending upon the diagnosis, several treatment alternatives are available. They include revision repair, nonanatomic repair, tendon transfer and arthroplasty. When possible, surgeons make tension-free repairs in