Rotator cuff tears are a common finding among middle aged adults with shoulder pain, but are also found among their peers without shoulder pain. Many of us will develop these tears as we age and as we have discussed in previous blog posts there is no difference in outcomes at 1 or 2 years if a patient elects for surgery or Physical Therapy for treatment of their symptoms. Our interventions in Physical Therapy are designed at optimizing shoulder function through manual therapy and strength training exercises allowing patients to return to their prior levels of activity without symptoms. Thankfully many rotator cuff tears improve over time due to the natural history of this injury, but a research study suggests Physical Therapy may accelerate this recovery if utilized early in a patient’s recovery.

Dickinson and colleagues studied 55 patients with rotator cuff tears for up to one and half years after the onset of their symptoms (J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2019). Patients were broken into two different groups based on their utilization of Physical Therapy interventions. Authors reported patients who received Physical Therapy in the first three months after the onset of their symptoms reported greater improvements in pain and function compared to patients utilizing other interventions such as medication or a wait and see approach. Importantly, Physical Therapy was found most effective in the first 8 week of treatment with limited benefits after this 8 week time frame. Patients are encouraged to utilize Physical Therapy early in their recovery process to accelerate their recovery.

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