Conservative management in a patient with massive rotator cuff tear and rheumatoid arthritis

Mid-Term Outcomes of Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

OBJECTIVE

The effectiveness of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients remains a controversial topic. This study investigates the mid-term outcomes of ARCR in RA patients and identifies the factors influencing clinical efficacy.

METHODS

This retrospective study enrolled RA patients with small or medium rotator cuff tears (RCTs) between February 2014 and February 2019. Visual Analog Scale (VAS), American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), and Constant-Murley scores were collected at each follow-up time. Ultimately, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-ray were employed to assess rotator cuff integrity and progression of shoulder bone destruction, respectively. Statistical methods used two-way repeated-measures ANOVA or generalized estimation equations.

RESULTS

A total of 157 patients were identified and divided into ARCR (n = 75) and conservative treatment (n = 82) groups. ARCR group continued to be divided into small tear (n = 35) and medium tear (n = 40) groups. At the final, all scores were better in ARCR group than in the conservative treatment group (p < 0.05). A radiographic evaluation of the final follow-up demonstrated that the progression rate in ARCR group (18.67%) was significantly lower than that of the conservative treatment group (39.02%, p < 0.05). In the comparison of the small tear and medium tear groups, all scores increased significantly after surgery (p < 0.05), and the final follow-up scores were better than preoperative scores (p < 0.05) but worse than those of the 6-month postoperative follow-up (p < 0.05). Comparison between the two groups revealed that all scores of the small tear group were significantly better than those of the medium tear group at 6-month postoperative follow-up (p < 0.05). Although the scores of small tear group remained better than those of the medium group at the final postoperative follow-up, the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Radiographic assessment of the final follow-up demonstrated that the progression rate in the small tear group (8.57%) was significantly lower than that in the medium group (27.50%, p < 0.05), and the retear rate of small tear group (14.29%) was significantly lower than that of the medium tear group (35.00%, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

ARCR could effectively improve the quality of life for RA patients with small or medium RCTs, at least in the medium term. Despite the progression of joint destruction in some patients, postoperative retear rates were comparable to those in the general population. ARCR is more likely to benefit RA patients than conservative treatment.

Exercise as effective as surgery in improving quality of life, disability, and pain for large to massive rotator cuff tears: A systematic review & meta-analysis

QUESTIONS

To report the characteristics of exercise interventions and ascertain their effectiveness compared to surgery on quality of life, disability, and pain for people with large to massive rotator cuff tendon tears (L-MRCTTs).

DESIGN

Systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

PARTICIPANTS

Adults with L-MRCTTs defined as; >5 cm, 2 or more tendons.

INTERVENTION

Exercise as an intervention for L-MRCTTs.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Primary: quality of life, disability, and pain. Secondary: range of motion (ROM). The Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) was used to extract data on the individual characteristics of each exercise intervention. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool V2 was used to assess study quality with the certainty of evidence assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria.

RESULTS

Five trials (n = 297 participants, average age 66.7 years, 55% male) were included in analysis. Three trials compared exercise to another non-surgical intervention and 2 trials compared exercise to surgery. At 12 months a significant improvement in pain of 0.47 (95% CI 0.07-0.88, I² = 53%, REM) favoured the surgical group and a significant improvement in shoulder external rotation ROM of 9° (95% CI 2.16-16.22, I² = 0%, FEM) favoured the exercise group. The median CERT score was 7/19 (range 4-12). The certainty of evidence was low or very low across all outcomes.

CONCLUSION

A paucity of high-quality research on the role of exercise in the management of L-MRCTTs exists with substantial discrepancies in the reporting of the exercise interventions in the published research.

Osteoid Osteoma in an Adult Wheelchair Basketball Player Mimicking Musculoskeletal Shoulder Pain: Red Flag or a Red Herring?

Osteoid osteoma (OO) is a relatively common, benign bone-forming tumour, which mainly occurs on the long tubular bones of the limbs in adolescents. Usually, the OO is classified based on its localisation. Night-time pain is the major symptom of OO, which is commonly relieved using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, while surgery is required only for those patients with severe pain or in case of failure of previous conservative treatments. Our case report describes a 56-year-old male basketball player who self-referred to our outpatient physical therapy with a shoulder pain complaint. Considering the anamnesis and the physical examination, the physical therapist referred the patient to an orthopaedic surgeon, who suggested a detailed imaging investigation. The peculiarity of this clinical case is the overlapping of two clinical presentations: the symptomatology of the OO and the concurrent mechanical disorder due to a rotator cuff tendinopathy.

Prevalence and incidence of low back pain among runners: a systematic review

Background

Running is one of the most popular sports worldwide. Despite low back pain (LBP) represents the most common musculoskeletal disorder in population and in sports, there is currently sparse evidence about prevalence, incidence and risk factors for LBP among runners. The aims of this systematic review were to investigate among runners: prevalence and incidence of LBP and specific risk factors for the onset of LBP.

Methods

A systematic review has been conducted according to the guidelines of the PRISMA statement. The research was conducted in the following databases from their inception to 31st of July 2019: PubMed; CINAHL; Google Scholar; Ovid; PsycINFO; PSYNDEX; Embase; SPORTDiscus; Scientific Electronic Library Online; Cochrane Library and Web of Science. The checklists of The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools were used to investigate the risk of bias of the included studies.

Results

Nineteen studies were included and the interrater agreement for full-text selection was good (K = 0.78; 0.61–0.80 IC 95%). Overall, low values of prevalence (0.7–20.2%) and incidence (0.3–22%) of LBP among runners were reported. Most reported risk factors were: running for more than 6 years; body mass index > 24; higher physical height; not performing traditional aerobics activity weekly; restricted range of motion of hip flexion; difference between leg-length; poor hamstrings and back flexibility.

Conclusions: Prevalence and incidence of LBP among runners are low compared to the others running related injuries and to general, or specific population of athletes. View the low level of incidence and prevalence of LBP, running could be interpreted as a protective factor against the onset of LBP.

Systematic review registration

PROSPERO CRD42018102001.