[Traumatic development of rotator cuff lesion. Scientific principles and consequences for expert assessment]

The traumatic etiology of rotator cuff lesions is a matter of controversial discussed in legal assessments. Because of the relatively high prevalence of degenerative changes with increasing age, including partial and complete rotator cuff tears, it may be difficult to demonstrate the cause of an acute traumatic rotator cuff tear. This article presents a review of the literature concerning current knowledge of the anatomy, biomechanics and pathogenesis of rotator cuff pathology. According to this, a catalogue of potentially adequate and inadequate trauma mechanisms is proposed. Another focus of this work is in the post-traumatic diagnostic steps following persistent rotator cuff-deficient shoulder function. X-ray, ultrasound, MRI and operative findings in rotator cuff tears underline the criteria for distinguishing between traumatic and degenerative lesions. From a legal point of view (e.g., private accident insurance, workers compensation claims), various minor and major arguments are defined, which could help the expert in judging the cause of post-traumatic rotator cuff deficiency.